Two campaign groups committed to fighting increases in flights from London City and Heathrow airport have announced their merger.

Fight the Flights, which was formed four years ago to oppose the plans to increase flight numbers at City Airport by 50 per cent, will merge with HACAN to become HACAN East London.

John Stewart, the chair of HACAN, which represents residents under the Heathrow flight paths, said: “This move makes a lot of sense. There are people across vast swathes of both East London and South East London who suffer disturbance from both City and Heathrow planes. Aircraft noise has become a London-wide problem.

“The merger will enable campaigners in East London to have access to greater HACAN’s resources. We will build on the excellent work which Fight the Flights has done in fighting noise and pollution.”