BRITISH Airways is the quietest airline when it comes to short haul flights, according to a new noise league table published by Heathrow.
Carriers have been ranked for the first time according to how much disturbance they cause people living under the flight paths.
Bosses at the airport hope the table, which will be published every three months, will help shame the noisiest operators and encourage those doing their bit to put a wind sock in it.
British Airways’ short-haul tops the inaugural ‘Fly Quiet’ table, covering July to September, and is 12th out of 50 airlines when it comes to its long-haul operations.
Bottom of the pile is the Polish carrier LOT, which was rated ‘red’ for using noisier aircraft and failing to ensure its planes make a steady descent, which reduces the racket for people on the ground.
Each of the 50 biggest airlines using Heathrow were given traffic light ratings in six categories, including the noise generated per seat on their planes and the number of early morning arrivals, which are a particular cause for complaint among residents.
Heathrow, which is the first UK airport to rank airlines according to their noise performance, has promised to work closely with struggling carriers to help them climb the table.
Matt Gorman, sustainability director at the airport, said: “The launch of the Fly Quiet programme signals our firm commitment to being transparent about aircraft noise and our progress in reducing its impact on local communities, while still safeguarding the vital connectivity and economic growth that Heathrow provides.”
The first table showed 80 per cent of the listed airlines had met Heathrow’s own minimum of requirement on noise and only 10 were rated red in any category.
British Airways’ long-haul was one of three operators to get the lowest rating when it came to the number of early morning flights.
John Stewart, chairman of anti-Heathrow expansion group HACAN, said: “This is a useful step in the right direction and Heathrow is to be commended for introducing it. But west London will remain a very noisey place for residents under the flight paths.”
A spokesman for LOT said it had achieved the best possible rating in four of the six criteria and had recently introduced the quieter Boeing 787 to its fleet. He added that it trained pilots in making a steady descent.
