Residents of villages under airport’s flightpath savour a brief taste of ‘peace and tranquillity’ amid travel chaos

Chirping birds and unbroken skies come as standard in many English villages, though not in Harmondsworth – which lies just under Heathrow’s flight path. But Friday was different.

“It’s been peace and tranquillity,” said 72-year-old Andrew Melville, who has lived in the village, which straddles the border of London and Berkshire, for 49 years. “Especially not being woken up by transatlantic flights in the early morning.”