LOT Polish Airlines has shot up Heathrow’s environmental league table of carriers having completely transformed its noise and emissions performance.
The airline has moved from bottom of the first league rankings to second place in the latest results in the London hub’s ‘Fly Quiet and Green’ scheme.
SAS continues to prove itself an environmentally conscious carrier at Heathrow, coming top of the rankings.
The latest league table ranks the performance of the top 50 busiest airlines at Heathrow on seven noise and emission metrics from January to March.
SAS flies to Copenhagen, Oslo, Stavanger and Stockholm from Heathrow, while LOT runs 15 services a week to Warsaw.
LOT has now started to operate new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft from Heathrow this year, which have made the largest positive differences to its rankings.
The engines on the new generation Boeing 737 are quieter and more efficient than its predecessors. The aircraft feature distinctive v-shaped winglets which allow the wings to encounter less drag, use less fuel, and produce lower carbon emissions.
SAS has worked with Heathrow to improve its use of ‘continuous descent approaches’ into Heathrow – a flight procedure that reduces noise as it requires less engine thrust and keeps the aircraft higher for longer.
The airline also improved its ability to keep flights within the departure corridors of “noise preferential routes” designated by the government.
The Fly Quiet and Clean league table itself was created in 2013 as one of the actions from Heathrow’s last noise action plan.
The airport is developing its next five-year noise action plan and will hold a series of public consultations on June 2, 6 and 23.
Heathrow sustainability director Matt Gorman of Sustainability said: “As the first initiative of its kind in Europe, it was hard to estimate the impact the ‘Fly Quiet and Green’ league table would have when it was first launched.
“LOT Polish Airlines’ story, however, shows the results that can be achieved by working productively with our airline partners to encourage them to use quieter technology and operating procedures for the benefit of our local neighbours.
“We know there is always more we can do to reduce our noise impacts, and we have set some ambitious targets in our new Noise Action Plan.
“We encourage all of our local neighbours to give us their feedback on this plan, and help us shape the way we manage noise in the future.”