We are going to wrap up our live coverage - here is a reminder on what has unfolded this morning.

• A legal challenge against plans for Gatwick Airport to bring its emergency runway into regular use has been dismissed by a High Court judge.
• Judge Mr Justice Mould dismissed two challenges from local campaigners, saying the Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander's decision was "lawful and reasonable".
• Campaigners Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (Cagne) and Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (Gacc) have expressed their dismay at the decision, and signalled that they are considering an appeal.
• Gatwick Airport said the ruling was a "victory for common sense", while the Department for Transport also welcomed the decision.

You can read more about today's judgement here.

Thank you for joining us, and keep an eye on the BBC website and social media for further coverage.

Image source, PA Media

Simon Calder
Travel journalist

Speaking to BBC South East, travel journalist Simon Calder says that the expansion of Gatwick Airport will be "nothing but an overwhelming positive" for passengers in the South East.

He said: "It has always been the case that the expansion of Gatwick is relatively easy compared with the expense and difficulty of Heathrow. Far fewer people will be affected.

"It's not ideal for people living under the flight path of Gatwick, but ultimately they [the High Court judge] sided with the government and with the airport.

"This is highly significant in the context of South East England. It's the first meaningful airport expansion in decades, and certainly for the economy of the Gatwick area, and for travellers in South East England, this is nothing but an overwhelming positive."

The plans to expand Gatwick Airport are expected to cost about £2.2bn, according to the airport.

The airport says the project will be privately financed and it has pledged to meet the costs without hiking charges to airlines.

In his ruling on Tuesday, High Court Judge Mr Justice Mould dismissed two legal challenges brought by local campaigners against the planned expansion of Gatwick Airport.

The judge ruled that Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander had acted lawfully when she approved the project in September.

In a 100-page judgement published on Tuesday, he said Alexander accepted the scheme would not "materially impact" the government's ability to meet net zero targets.

The judge added: “The Secretary of State for Transport does not resile from her finding that the proposed development will not fully contribute to the UK’s trajectory towards net zero.

“On the contrary, that significant effect leads her to place moderate adverse weight against the making of the development consent order.

“She does not, however, treat that finding as determinative of her judgment.”

He concluded that it is “neither illogical nor contradictory” for Alexander to not refuse the proposed development “on the basis that it would have a material impact on the ability of Government to meet its carbon reduction targets”.

The judge also rejected an argument about the need for the expansion at Gatwick, given the proximity to Heathrow.

A countryside charity that backed the Judicial Review has called the decision “the latest in a series of assaults on the Sussex countryside”.

The Sussex branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said the expansion of Gatwick Airport will significantly increase greenhouse gas pollution, while also bringing more noise, congestion and air pollution to neighbouring communities and protected landscapes.

Nancy Duckels, CPRE Sussex’s campaigns and communications manager, said: “Climate change is the single biggest threat to our countryside.

“This is a very disappointing result that cannot go unchallenged. Economic growth - if that even comes - cannot come at the cost of public health.

“We stand with CAGNE and the Sussex communities who know this is a terrible decision for the Sussex countryside.”

Now that the legal challenge has been dismissed, questions will turn to what happens next and how the Gatwick Airport plans will progress.

Government sources had previously said it is "possible that planes could be taking off from a new full runway at Gatwick before the next general election, external", which would mean by 2029.

By the late 2030s, Gatwick Airport also says it hopes it will be able to handle 389,000 flights a year with a second runway.

In September 2025, the airport was handling about 280,000 flights a year.

Chrissie Reidy
South East

We have been speaking to some of the campaigners involved about their reaction to the news that the legal challenge has been dismissed.

Penny Shoubridge, who is on the committee of the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (Gacc), tells BBC South East that the groups objections are reasonable, adding: "I'm shocked we haven't been listened to."

Jonathan Essex, vice chair of Gacc and the leader of the Green Party group on Surrey County Council, says: "We can't rely on one judge to determine the future of Gatwick, let alone this planet."

As a reminder, the campaigners say they are considering lodging an appeal against today's decision and have seven days in which to do so.

Today's announcement that a High Court judge has rejected the challenge against a second runway at Gatwick Airport is the latest step towards the plans becoming a reality.

However, the plans have now been years in the making, with the West Sussex airport first unveiling them in 2019.

Here is a timeline of how we got to this point:

Here is the statement in full from Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (Cagne) after losing its appeal.

“Cagne will not accept this ruling as the final word. Our legal team will now consider an appeal, and we will continue to stand up for the communities who will be forced to live with the consequences of this expansion.

“Cagne are obviously disappointed by today’s ruling. Communities across Sussex, Surrey and Kent helped fund this legal action because they have grave and legitimate concerns about the proposed expansion, the lack of airport funding for essential infrastructure, the absence of proper investment in sewerage treatment, the increased noise burden on local residents, worsening air quality, and the significant rise in CO2 and other harmful emissions.

“Today’s ruling provides no reassurance for those concerns. It does not change the fact that local communities are being asked to carry the consequences while the airport fails to provide the funding needed to protect the people and places affected.

“It is fundamentally wrong that taxpayers should be expected to meet the costs of new runway operations while shareholders stand to profit from an additional 101,000 flights a year and 80 million passengers. The public should not be left to pay for the infrastructure, environmental damage and disruption created by private gain.

“This government must stop viewing aviation expansion through rose-tinted glasses and relying on unsubstantiated claims of economic benefit while ignoring the vast local and global environmental costs. Communities deserve honesty, accountability and protection — not another decision that sidelines their health, homes and environment.”

We have also heard from the Department for Transport, which also welcomes the decision.

“This is a project that balances our environmental and climate commitments with huge economic benefits - bringing around 14,000 new jobs to local people and delivering £1bn a year to benefit all four corners of the UK,” a spokesperson says.

Secretary of State Heidi Alexander approved the plans in September 2025.

Image source, Chrissie Reidy/BBC

Challenges to the plans were also brought by the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (Gacc), and its chairman Peter Barclay.

In a statement, a spokesperson said it was "disappointed in today's decision".

Meanwhile, Barclay said: “The upshot of the judge’s decision seems to be that noise policies are not worth the paper they are written on.

"They don’t require proper protections in a meaningful timeframe, while airports reap the economic benefits of expansion."

Image source, Reuters

We have now heard from Gatwick Airport, with a spokesperson saying it is “a victory for common sense”.

"Our exciting plans will deliver significant business, tourism and trade benefits for the UK, including 14,000 new jobs and a £1bn boost to the economy every year,” they add.

"We now look forward to turning our plans into reality and will announce further details in due course.”

Campaigners say under new rules they have seven days to apply to the Court of Appeal.

Today's rejection of the challenges marks the end of the current legal chapter in the case, but Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (Cagne) says it will consider an appeal against the decision.

If it chooses to do so, the group will have seven days in which to lodge an appeal against the decision, co-claimants Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (Gacc) say.

A government source says the ruling that the assessment was lawful and reasonable is an “important exoneration of the transport secretary’s decision and good news for passengers and businesses”.

The plans would cost £2.2 billion, but would bring in £1bn to the South East economy each year and could increase its capacity to 389,000 flights a year by the late 2030s, Gatwick Airport says.

The legal challenge against the runway expansion plans had been brought by the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (Gacc) and Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (Cagne) groups.

The groups argued that the impact of the second runway had not been properly assessed when approving the plans. This claim has, however, now been dismissed.

Estelle Dehon KC, for Cagne, had argued that people were "profoundly concerned" by the "impacts exacerbating climate, impacts from additional noise and impacts on wastewater".

But James Strachan KC, for Gatwick Airport, argued that the assertion that it had failed to consider non-carbon dioxide emissions was "simply wrong".

You can read more about the hearing from January here.

Image source, Gatwick Airport

We have had our first reaction from Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (Cagne), one of the groups that brought the claim.

In a statement, the group said it "will not accept this ruling as the final word", adding that it would consider an appeal.

“Cagne are obviously disappointed by today’s ruling,” a spokesperson said.

"Communities across Sussex, Surrey and Kent helped fund this legal action because they have grave and legitimate concerns about the proposed expansion, the lack of airport funding for essential infrastructure, the absence of proper investment in sewerage treatment, the increased noise burden on local residents, worsening air quality, and the significant rise in CO2 and other harmful emissions."

Let's bring you more from the ruling this morning from High Court Judge Mr Justice Mould.

In the ruling, the judge found that the Secretary of State's assessment of the impacts of emissions was "lawful and reasonable".

Mr Justice Mould said that the claim from campaigners that the government had misinterpreted the national policy framework for the decision was "without foundation".

Gatwick Airport's plans for a second runway, which were approved in September by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, involve moving its northern runway by 12m (39.3ft) to the north.

The plans would allow the second runway to be brought into regular use.

The airport previously said that the runway, once operational, would bring £1bn a year into the economy in south-east England and create 14,000 jobs in the region.

Good morning - you join us as a challenge to the government's decision to approve a second runway at Gatwick Airport has been ruled on.

High Court Judge Mr Justice Mould dismissed two challenges brought by local campaigners after the plans were approved by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander in September.