London Gatwick Launches New Rapid Exit Taxiway to Enhance Efficiency and Sustainability

Gatwick Airport introduces a Rapid Exit Taxiway (RET), cutting delays and emissions, marking a significant step towards its sustainability and operational efficiency goals.

London Gatwick, a key player in VINCI Airports’ network, has made a strategic move to bolster its operational efficiency and sustainability commitments with the launch of a new Rapid Exit Taxiway (RET). Operational since last month, the RET is designed to allow arriving aircraft to vacate the main runway more swiftly, enhancing the airport's resilience, reducing delays, and mitigating carbon and noise emissions.

In its first four days, the new taxiway was utilized by over 56% of all arriving flights, demonstrating its immediate impact on improving runway performance. The RET addresses the challenge of aircraft missing their first exit by providing a more optimal location for leaving the runway, thus significantly shortening the time needed for aircraft to clear the runway and reducing the potential for delays and additional emissions.

Gavin Sillitto, Transformation Programme Lead at London Gatwick, likened the efficiency of using the RET to exiting a motorway via a slip road rather than a suburban street. The strategic placement of the exit, which allows aircraft to leave the runway at higher speeds safely, is a boon for enhancing airport resilience, cutting down on delays, and reducing carbon and noise footprints.

The project, which initially commenced in 2020, underwent a pause and a subsequent redesign during the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to a more than 10% reduction in construction carbon emissions from the original plan. This optimization process, carried out in collaboration with AtkinsRéalis and PJ Hegarty, focused on rationalizing and enhancing the design to achieve significant sustainability benefits without impacting the local community.

The construction, carefully managed to minimize disruption in a 24-hour operational environment, at times necessitated the use of the existing Northern Runway for aircraft operations.

As London Gatwick continues to invest in its future, its proposal to bring the airport’s Northern Runway into routine use is under detailed examination. This initiative aims to further enhance the airport's resilience, reduce delays, and contribute significantly to the national and regional economy by bolstering trade, tourism, and job creation. Full details of the project and updates are available on Gatwick Airport's website.

The introduction of the RET at London Gatwick is a testament to the airport's ongoing commitment to innovation, sustainability, and operational excellence, promising a more efficient and environmentally friendly future for one of the UK's major air transport hubs.