EL AL named noisiest airline at Heathrow

Israel’s national carrier, El Al, has been revealed as the noisiest at Heathrow and has received a stern warning letter from the airport’s chief executive.

The landing-noise scores, published for the period July-September 2014, shows El Al now props up the league table, replacing Polish airline LOT as west London’s worst offender.

Among the factors in which El Al received a ‘red rating’ was continuous descent approach (CDA), in which aircraft maintain a steady angle of approach when landing, rather than prolonged periods of level flight.

Quietest over the same period were the domestic and short-haul operations of British Airways, Virgin and Ireland’s Aer Lingus.

The airport’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye said he had “written to those airlines failing to meet Heathrow’s CDA standards, asking for engagement from their technical teams with the airport to increase CDA adherence”.