Plans to change flight paths over Waltham Forest and Redbridge, which campaigners claimed would create a ‘noise ghetto’, have suffered a blow after Boris Johnson intervened to block the expansion of London City Airport.

The £220million project was part approved by Newham council earlier this month and would have tripled the airport in size.

But the Mayor of London has ordered the council to refuse the development on the grounds of noise disturbance.

Take-offs and landings were expected to increase from 70,000 a year to 111,000, with passenger numbers doubling to six million by 2023.

The airport was set to submit plans to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to use new technology to create a much narrower and concentrated flight corridor over Wanstead, Leytonstone and Leyton.

Mr Johnson said the airport was intended to be a business airport, rather than a leisure airport.

The decision makes it unlikely the airport will be able to bring in the larger planes it wanted to serve new destinations.

John Stewart, chair of HACAN East, which campaigned against the expansion plans, said “The airport is paying the price for being so cavalier about noise.

“Quite simply, Boris did not believe its claims that it was dealing adequately with noise. We salute his decision.”