GACC Newsletter
Dear Members, Supporters, and Friends,
Judicial review update
We have just heard from the Judge’s Clerk. He is proposing to provide a draft by the end of this month, with a view to handing down once the Court returns from the Whitsun break in early June.
Whilst this might seem long overdue its not so unusual for major planning enquiries of this complexity. In the meantime we still have a substantial Legal bill to meet and so our fund raising programme is working overtime. Click the link or see below details of the Walk the Runway fund raising event on 6th June.
Route 4 – Northern Departure Route
Route 4 Consultation
The consultation closed on 28th April. Gatwick are reporting that in excess of 1800 responses were received which is a good turnout. Gatwick expect to be able to send the collated responses through to the CAA by early July and are hoping for the CAA to approve the results by the end of July – all following the CAA CAP1616 required process.
Thereafter it will go through further processes and potentially the finally agreed route will put into action towards the end of 2027 or early 2028. That time scale presupposes there’s no changes or further consultation needed.
Go to this link for more information.
What’s Happening at Gatwick ?
There’s been a degree of turmoil world wide as a result of the activities in the Gulf which has resulted in a significant number of flights being cut. In addition there’s conflicting information on the immediate and future availability of aviation fuel which is giving uncertainty as whether further flight programmes might be cut back. However although the talk of cancelled flight being suggested in the thousands the direct impact on our communities is likely to be insignificant.
Other News
Luton Judicial Review
We are not alone in the courts challenging airport expansion. Our friends, LADACAN, at Luton are challenging proposals to virtually double Luton Airport’s capacity. Like us the recommendations of the Planning Inspectorate were overturned by the Secretary of State for Transport in April 2025. An initial JR was held in November 2025 and now an appeal against the judges ruling in that hearing is to be heard next week – May 19/20. The result of this hearing is critical and could influence government policy on airport expansion.
LADACAN are holding a rally outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday 20th May at 0930 so anyone who could attend to give support and to tell the media that there should be no airport expansion will be very welcome !
A220 Whale Noise
There’s been an ongoing issue with the Airbus A220 aircraft type which emits what is described as a whale like noise under certain conditions. Airbus have identified the source of the noise and future models will no longer produce the noise. However existing aircraft will have to wait for some time to have any retrofit programme activated (which is not compulsory) – possibly until 2028. Luckily there are only a small number of A220 operations into Gatwick at present.
Early Morning Arrival
Gatwick has initiated a new procedure for aircraft arriving in the early morning. There have often been a number of flights, usually transatlantic, that arrive just after 0600 in the morning – outside the night jet restricted time. Sometimes these aircraft arrive early (usually as a result of favourable en route winds or direct routings by air traffic control) and need to land in the night jet period. This uses up night jet slots and of course causes extra disturbance to local communities. Gatwick’s new procedure involves sending these early arrivals into one of the two holding patterns and then adjusting their arrival time to land after the 0600 cut off time. Whilst there is a benefit to communities adjacent to the airport the possibility arises that those living beneath the holding patterns might suffer although these patterns are above 7000 ft. Gatwick is monitoring the impact of this procedure. If you become affected make sure you lodge a complaint and let us know the details.
Critical Noise Reports
We have been awaiting the publication of two critical reports by the Department of Transport and the CAA. Firstly the Aviation Noise Attitudes Survey (ANAS) from the CAA was due mid-March (originally Q3 2025 ) but still hasn’t appeared. Secondly the Aviation Night Noise Effects (ANNE) study originally due to be published at the end of 2025 is now forecast to be published in late 2026. Both these reports will influence the Airports National Planning Statement currently under revision and for government to have been making decisions on airport expansion before their publication is disgraceful.
Important Diary Dates
Annual General Meeting
22nd June, 2026 at 7:30pm
Pursuant to Section 5 of the GACC Constitution, notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the members of Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (“GACC”) will be held on 22nd June, 2026 at 7:30pm.
This year’s meeting will be in-person and will take place at the Charlwood Parish Hall, 92 The Street, Charlwood Surrey RH6 ODU.
As always, members of the public are very welcome to attend what we’re sure will be a highly informative event.
Walk the Runway – a sponsored walk around Gatwick – Saturday 6th June
Please help oppose Gatwick’s controversial new runway by sponsoring me. I’m Pat Smith (local resident, campaigner and granny aged 77) and I’m joining Jonathan Essex, Deputy Chair of GACC (Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign) to walk round the threatened area – around 16 miles – on Saturday 6th June.
We’ll cover the whole airport perimeter, taking in rivers, public footpaths, woods and cycleways. GACC needs money for their legal fund so please be generous. To sponsor me follow this link.
Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign
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Follow this link to the GACC fundraising campaign
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Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign
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Published upon receipt on 15th May 2026