London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has slammed Heathrow Airport after proposed spending on “noise reduction” was drastically cut.
Around 6,500 local homes could be affected by the noise from additional flights if and when a third runway at Heathrow becomes operational.
The airport had proposed spending £241 million on double glazing, loft insulation and erecting walls - but this has been severely cut to just £52 million.
Sir Sadiq also warned that the number of night flights will double if the third runway gets the go-ahead.
The disclosures are contained in over 70 pieces of written evidence to the House of Commons transport select committee on the proposed expansion.
Airport chiefs have blamed the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for being forced to cut the noise insulation budget, while insisting that a ban on night flights would be “enhanced” rather than diluted.
Heathrow also promised to implement the noise reduction measures for local residents over the next 20 years - but a submission by local forum the Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group has warned that local residents could wait a century for noise protection.
Others argued that shareholders, such as sovereign wealth funds Qatar Investment Authority and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, could fund the project without CAA approval.
Paul Beckford, policy director at Hacan, a campaign body for residents near Heathrow, said: “There is a strong argument that… a good corporate neighbour would just use shareholder money to invest in [it].”
Regarding night flights, the draft expansion policy statement suggested a six-and-a-half hour ban within the hours of 11pm and 7am.
Airlines already operate under voluntary agreements that mean flights are rare between these hours.
Sir Sadiq said that a loophole in the proposed night flight ban would be put in place for the third runway to operate.
He argued that formalising the ban risks flights being rescheduled to the hours immediately before or after the ban, meaning airlines could compress their schedules, doubling night flights by packing them into either the early morning or late night windows.
Local residents groups also voiced their concerns, with local charity the Putney Society arguing that the great majority of people need more than six and a half hours sleep a night.”
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “We have proposed enhancements to our night flight ban, already the strictest in Europe.”
The CAA said: “The consultation on Heathrow’s pricing arrangements proposed broadly retaining existing levels of noise insulation expenditure.”
The news comes after all roads to Heathrow Airport’s Terminals 2 and 3 reopened following a burst water main, which caused hours of disruption on Saturday.
A leak beneath the airport’s Inner Ring Road West disrupted access to the terminals.
