The British Airports Authority (BAA) has endorsed the practice of installing double glazing insulation to block out the noise caused by overhead aircraft. According to the Guardian, BAA recently wrote to 41,000 homeowners living under Heathrow’s night-time flightpaths, offering them subsidies towards the installation of double glazing in windows and doors.

Anyone living within a 90-decibel "noise footprint" surrounding the airport is eligible for the scheme, prompting some critics to accuse the authority of opportunistically pre-empting the construction of Heathrow’s third runway. BAA dismissed that suggestion out of hand, however, abruptly telling the Guardian: "It has nothing to do with the third runway and there are no conspiracies here."

Rather, the authority insists it is simply trying to find a solution to the ongoing problem of loud aircraft by promoting a noise-reducing technology that carries with it environmental and cost-saving benefits for homeowners. Each year, about 6,000 flights operating out of Heathrow land or take off between 23:30 and 06:30.

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