Heathrow's promises over night flights and a fourth runway, which bosses at the airport hope will pave the way to a third landing strip, are "not worth the paper they're written on" according to a Hounslow MP.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye announced a raft of commitments on Wednesday (May 11) morning which he said met or exceeded the conditions set out by the Airports Commission for a third runway at the airport to be built.
The pledges, which are dependent on a third runway being approved, include extending the ban on night flights to run from 11pm to 5.30am, guaranteeing that a fourth runway would never be built and making any extra flights contingent on air quality targets being met.
But Brentford and Isleworth MP Ruth Cadbury said Heathrow's record when it came to keeping promises meant the airport's neighbours were right to be sceptical about the latest assurances.
"Heathrow's commitments aren't worth the paper they’re written on to the communities around Heathrow," said the MP, who is vice-chair of the Heathrow and the Economy All Party Parliamentary Group.
'Too many breaches of current agreements'
"Its commitment today of a ban on scheduled night flights for six and a half hours will be met with scepticism by local residents who too often suffer the breaches of night and day respite agreements.
"With the current situation as it is, how could we possibly trust its new 'later starts' offer? Furthermore, with a third runway, current day-time respite periods will be cut, and another 300,000 people will experience significantly more noise.
"Of course the transport and training investment offered by Heathrow is to be welcomed but these are necessary now with the two-runway airport.
"Finally, we must not forget that at the time of the Terminal 5 inquiry, Heathrow categorically stated it would not need a third runway, then quickly reversed its stance.
"Any promise of 'no fourth runway' will fall on deaf ears by those already betrayed by their current bid. We simply cannot trust Heathrow to stay true to its promises."
Ms Cadbury, who has previously claimed noise from Heathrow significantly reduces pupils' performance , was not the only person to criticise Heathrow's announcement.
A spokesperson for London mayor Sadiq Khan said he remained "entirely opposed" to a third runway at Heathrow , instead favouring a second runway at Gatwick.
The protest group Stop Heathrow Expansion said it would still mean Harmondsworth and parts of Sipson turned into a "concrete jetway".
The campaign group HACAN said residents did want a ban on night flights but were not prepared to wait 10 years for a new runway to be built before it was introduced.
But pro-expansion group Back Heathrow said there were now "no excuses" for the government to delay its decision as the case for a third runway at the airport was now "overwhelming".
As well as its commitments to secure a third runway, Heathrow also unveiled some striking new images of how an expanded airport might look as it announced its shortlist of architects for the project.
