Heathrow bosses have disputed newspaper reports that they are considering imposing a £15 congestion charge on holidaymakers headed through the 82 miles of road surrounding the airport.

The story has appeared in newspapers over the last two days.

But a quick response from the airport followed.

The statement said: “We don’t recognise the 82 miles or the £15 quoted. We have an ambitious plan to treble our rail capacity by 2040 and enable 30 million more passengers to use public transport."

But company admitted action over polluting traffic emissions was being considered.

"We have various options to apply emissions based charging to vehicles travelling to and from the airport – for example, using drop off charges based on vehicle emissions as other UK airports do - which could be another way to reduce road journeys and support our sustainable transport plans.

"The airport low emissions zone is an option which could be considered as a last resort, applied only to those travelling to and from the airport, and only after all other emissions based charging and sustainable transport options have been exhausted.

"If this or any form of congestion charge is introduced, we would ensure that appropriate exemptions are made to ensure that passengers who rely on their car (for instance because of reduced mobility or other disabilities) are not unfairly penalised."