Heathrow faces new flights row

Heathrow airport could receive up to 40 new early-morning flights each day because of a loophole created by the withdrawal of Concorde, it was revealed today.

And the airport could see up to 840 new take-offs or landings each week because of the ending of supersonic flights, anti-noise protesters have calculated.

A conference beginning today at the European Parliament in Brussels is to hear how the way the noise suffered by people in Heathrow's flightpath is calculated has created an anomaly which would allow dozens of new flights to replace each axed Concorde.

Anti-noise campaigners Hacan ClearSkies will also use the conference to unveil research showing that parts of London as far east as Kennington are exposed to noise which is by international standards at "nuisance" level.

An expert report commissioned by the group claimed that because Concorde was so much noisier than any other planes using Heathrow, its effect on the average noise level under official calculations was equivalent to 120 flights by normal jets every day.

Today BAA denied it would increase the number of flights.