Heathrow airport urge airlines to use cleaner, quieter aircraft

January 3, 2018: In an attempt to mitigate impact of airport on local communities, Heathrow airport has restructured environmental charges to incentivise airlines to use cleaner, quieter aircraft.

According to reports, the environmental charges have been increased by seven percent from January 1.

The introduction of the higher environmental charge is part of Heathrow's ambitious sustainability strategy%u2014Heathrow 2.0, which is aimed at delivering a more sustainable future for the aviation industry.

It includes an objective to make growth from a new runway at Heathrow carbon neutral, and the use 100 percent renewable electricity at the airport from 2017. It's a major step toward creating a zero-carbon airport and establish an airside ultra-low emission zone by 2025, to enhance quality of life of local communities through cleaner air.

With new public transport like Crossrail, HS2 and rail links to the west and south on the horizon- the way people travel to Heathrow is also set to be transformed, helping the airport to reach its goal of 50 percent of passengers travelling by sustainable transport by 2030.

Heathrow has also recently made a significant investment in electric vehicles and charging points at the airport as well as unveiling a new scheme to encourage colleagues to purchase low-emission vehicles. All of these measures combined will help the airport tackle emissions at the airport.

John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow said: "Heathrow is determined to reduce the airport's environmental impacts. Increasing our environmental charges to incentivise airlines to bring their cleanest, quietest aircraft to Heathrow is the best way to cut emissions and shrink the noise footprint around the airport. It's a tangible step that will make a real difference to local communities."