Bosses at Stansted Airport have urged the government not to restrict the number of night flights allowed into the UK, as this could have a serious impact on the nation's economy.

Chris Wiggan, Stansted's head of public affairs and sustainable development, insisted these services are "critical" to the express freight industry and airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair also rely on early morning flights in order to keep passenger fares as cheap as possible.

His comments came after the Department for Transport launched a consultation on night flying restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.

The London Assembly has called for night flights at Heathrow to either be abolished or rerouted so they do not cause undue noise pollution in heavily populated areas.

However, Mr Wiggan is adamant that switching late journeys to other airports could have negative environmental implications.

"As the UK economy improves and passenger and freight movements continue to grow at Stansted, it is vital that government recognises this potential and retains our full night flight quota limit," he commented.