Heathrow is planning to cut charges for airlines flying domestic routes from the London hub airport by a third and will make up the shortfall by increasing the charges attached to noise and pollution.

The airport hopes the move will provide more incentive for airlines to fly cleaner and quieter planes.

Some fares should fall as Heathrow is proposing to give a £10 discount to the average £29.59 per passenger charge for domestic flights, although the charges are levied on airlines rather than customers so are not necessarily passed on.

Only seven domestic routes now operate out of Heathrow, compared with 18 in 1990, and the airport hopes to reverse the decline and prove its worth as a national hub airport with domestic connections as it seeks to win approval for a third runway. About 7% of its 73.2 million passengers each year fly on domestic routes.

Environmental charges on the dirtiest, noisiest aircraft will increase, with a doubling of the tariff attached to nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. The noisiest planes will face a trebling in charges to £9,000 per landing, although fewer than 1% of flights fall into this category.

Overall airport charges are capped by the regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, so the changes, to take effect in January 2016 after consultation with airlines, will be revenue-neutral.

The discount for UK flights will help Heathrow avoid losing more traffic to other EU hub airports, with increasing numbers of passengers now flying from UK regional airports to places such as Schiphol for long-haul connections. Heathrow will also cut charges by £5 for passengers departing to European destinations.

Heathrow’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, said: “We’re serious when we say Heathrow is committed to making sure that businesses across Britain can benefit from the connections to growth markets that only the UK’s hub can provide, while incentivising only the quietest and cleanest planes to operate from Heathrow.

“Our proposal to cut passenger charges by a third for domestic services will help us continue to drive the tourism, exports, inbound tourism and foreign direct investment that supports economic growth across the whole of the UK.”

The Airports Commission will give its recommendation on whether an extra runway should be built at either Heathrow or Gatwick shortly after the general election.

A Gatwick spokesperson said: “Gatwick has the best regional links of any London airport and still remains significantly cheaper than Heathrow.”