Gatwick takes aim at rival with pledge to stagger expansion

Gatwick is set to  make a further appeal in the new year 
Gatwick is set to make a further appeal in the new year 
ALAMY

Gatwick will open a new front in its campaign to build a second runway by promising to stagger the work over two decades, The Times has learnt.

Britain’s second-biggest airport will seek to seize the initiative from Heathrow in the new year by pledging to create extra capacity over four phases between 2021 and 2040, as opposed to one large-scale construction project.

The move is intended to soften the blow of a new runway while spreading the costs over a longer period to minimise disruption.

It comes a week after the government delayed its decision over where to build a new runway in the southeast for at least another six months.

The government-appointed airports commission strongly recommended in the summer that additional capacity should be