There’s some respite from the landing changes that Heathrow imposes on flights, with the UK Civil Aviation Authority choosing to propose a cap the fees that the airport can charge.
It’s still to expensive to pass through here – Heathrow Airport, Image Economy Class and Beyond.
These charges will run for the next five years.
According to the CAA, Heathrow is among the most expensive airports in the world for its charges to airlines.
The average maximum price per passenger that airlines will pay Heathrow will fall from £30.19 today to £26.31 in 2026.
Heathrow wanted to charge up to £41.95.
When the effects of inflation are removed, this is equivalent to nearly a six per cent reduction every year from today’s level up to 2026.
This pricing profile reflects expected increases in passenger numbers as the recovery from the pandemic continues and the higher level of the price cap in 2022, which was put in place in 2021 to reflect the challenges from the pandemic at the time.
The package of measures set out in the proposals includes:
- A five-year control period that will allow the airport to reduce charges for consumers and provide investors with medium-term certainty. The control period will run from 2022 to 2026.
- Affordable charges for consumers, to support the recovery in passenger numbers.
- Allowing Heathrow to appropriately invest in keeping the airport safe, secure and resilient, while at the same time providing a good experience for passengers. This includes investing in next-generation security equipment and a new baggage system for Terminal 2.
As you can guess Heathrow Airport isn’t happy, with them noting that it could limit investment.
In Quotes
Richard Moriarty, Chief Executive at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said:
“Today’s announcement is about doing the right thing for consumers. We have listened very carefully to both Heathrow Airport and the airlines who have differing views to each other about the future level of charges. Our independent and impartial analysis balances affordable charges for consumers, while allowing Heathrow to make the investment needed for the future.”
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said:
“As the industry rebuilds, our focus is to work alongside airlines and their ground handlers to give passengers a reliable and consistent journey through Heathrow. The CAA continues to underestimate what it takes to deliver a good passenger service, both in terms of the level of investment and operating costs required and the fair incentive needed for private investors to finance it. Uncorrected, these elements of the CAA’s proposal will only result in passengers getting a worse experience at Heathrow as investment in service dries up.
“Economic regulation should drive affordable private investment in Britain’s infrastructure to the benefit of users, not hamper it. The CAA’s proposal will undermine the delivery of key improvements for passengers, while also raising serious questions about Britain’s attractiveness to private investors.
“We will take time to assess the CAA’s proposal in more detail and will provide a further evidence-based response to this latest consultation. There is still time for the CAA to get this right with a plan that puts passengers first and encourages everyone in the industry to work together to better serve the travelling public.”
A Final Proposal?
Heathrow Airport has always been expensive to fly out of (as those of you who have reward tickets will know when looking at all the surcharges and taxes).
Whilst we all know that airport usage fees are an important part of the mix, it’s also important that
Whilst this is the final proposal from the UK Civil Avation Authority, you can bet there will be a lot of jostling by Heathrow to raise the cap and airlines to lower the cap, with a consulation to be lauched.
This is by no means the endof the argument…
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