Heathrow has pledged to cut noise, a move welcomed by campaign groups and neighbours.

In a report published on Thursday, May 30, called A Quieter Heathrow, the airport promised to publicly rank airlines on noise performance and work with National Air Traffic Services (Nats) to trial steeper approaches into Heathrow.

The airport also wants to establish a new noise insulation scheme and increase fines for airlines that break noise limits.

John Stewart, chairman of campaign group Hacan, said: “These measures are welcome and will improve the noise climate for residents.

“But all the good work could be undone if a third runway was built and the huge increase in flight numbers would almost certainly outweigh the benefits these measures will bring.”

The report is not concerned with adding more runways at Heathrow, but the airport bosses said if it did grow, more noise-tackling measures would be needed to eliminate a choice between more flights or less noise.

Colin Matthews, CEO of Heathrow, said: “Heathrow is at the forefront of international efforts to tackle aircraft noise and as a result, even though the number of flights has almost doubled since the 1970s, fewer people are affected by noise.

“We will continue to work with airlines, Nats, policy makers and local communities to further reduce aircraft noise whilst safeguarding the vital connectivity and economic growth that Heathrow provides.”

The report has focused on five areas: quieter planes, quieter operating procedures, noise mitigation and land use planning, operating restrictions and working with local communities.

These measures mean that planes flying in and out of Heathrow are on average 15 per cent quieter than fleets of the same airlines which land at other world airports.