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Heathrow and Gatwick are embroiled in a fresh row over airport expansion – this time over aircraft noise.
Both airports were asked for submissions on noise pollution by the government’s Airports Commission.
Gatwick showed that it already causes less noise pollution than its larger rival, while Heathrow put forward a plan for how it could cut noise, according to weekend reports.
Both airports are bidding to build additional runways to help relieve the capacity squeeze in the southeast.
Gatwick argued that it would always be quieter than Heathrow as aircraft do not fly over highly populated areas on departure and arrival.
Heathrow’s plans to reduce noise rely on changing flight paths, manufacturers making quieter aircraft and moving its runways to the west so than fewer residents are affected, the Mail on Sunday reported.
Gatwick is also pressing the commission to ensure that the same measurements are used to assess the potential noise effects of all schemes, claiming that Heathrow uses a different system.
Chief executive Stuart Wingate, quoted in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, said: “Even with a second runway, Gatwick would impact far less than 5% of the people impacted by Heathrow today.”