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The need for a third runway at Heathrow could be done away with if Emirates Eco-Approach takes off. The Dubai-based airline, which is one of the fastest growing carriers to operate out of Heathrow, believes that the way forward is not to build the controversial third runway but to increase night flights.

This may well seem like an environmental nightmare but the plan submitted by Emirates to the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) is perhaps not as outrageous as it might seem. The proposal involves planes flying into Heathrow at a steeper angle than normal (5.5 degrees rather than 3) which reduces noise as well as CO2 emissions, since it results in fewer planes being stacked as they wait to land. Best of all, the plan, if given the go-ahead, would only involve an investment of around £2 million as opposed to the billions necessary for the building of a third runway.

By opening the runway to incoming planes later at night and earlier in the morning, thousands of extra flights could be accommodated, according to the president of Emirates, Tim Clark. There is a current restriction on flights landing between the hours of 11.30pm and 6.00am. The only downside is that the steep descent can only be carried out by the new super-jumbos.

Fierce opposition is to be expected from those living in the flight path who seem unconvinced by Clark’s assurances that the noise of incoming flights would be “like a rain shower”.

The CAA confirmed that it had received the plan but said that it would require careful scrutiny. Heathrow’s owners, the BAA, said that the proposal would not help daytime congestion and that they were looking into controlled descent which is more environmentally friendly than Emirates’ proposed steep descent.