Etihad Airways has been given a top rating by London’s Heathrow Airport for its emissions and night-time noise performance during the first three months of 2017.

The “Fly Quiet and Clean” League Table, the first of its kind to be produced by the airport, placed the UAE’s national airline among the top carriers for operating the cleanest and quietest fleets.

The top rating recognition is the result of a programme of disciplined flying by Etihad Airways’ Operations which strictly manages airport approaches and departures, as well as adhering to air traffic control instructions and procedures.

Rick Allen, senior vice president operations at Etihad Airways, said: “In addition to safety, our pilots are trained to focus on efficient flying, especially into busy airports like Heathrow. So it is very pleasing to be placed at the top of the first Fly Quiet and Clean table.

“This attention to detail brings great benefits in terms of lowering fuel usage and reducing noise. We will continue to work closely with the airport authorities and aim to stay at the top of the league of airlines operating into Heathrow.”

The new airline league table is part of Heathrow’s plans to be a world-leader in reducing emissions from all sources of activity, both on and off airport. The 50 busiest airlines at the airport are publicly ranked on their work to reduce emissions and noise in their operations.

The new league table is an expanded version of the successful Heathrow Fly Quiet programme, which has tracked airlines’ noise performance since 2013 and incentivised airlines to use their quieter aircraft types and operating procedures at the airport.  

In March this year Etihad Airways revealed that its drive to improve fuel efficiency and cut carbon dioxide emissions across the business had saved more than 60,000 tonnes of fuel in 2016.

This 2.5 per cent improvement over the year amounts to a cut of nearly 190,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions – the equivalent of 1,200 flights between Abu Dhabi and London.

Etihad Airways operates an Airbus A380 three times a day between Abu Dhabi and Heathrow. - TradeArabia News Service