London Heathrow’s GBP16b (US$21b) expansion plan may have cleared its last major political hurdle, but the project has yet to convince British Airways, the hub’s biggest customer. After UK lawmakers backed the construction of a third runway by 415 votes to 119 late Monday, IAG responded by saying that the financing arrangements proposed by Heathrow are likely to increase user charges and effectively require present-day passengers to fund future flights. “Parliament has approved Heathrow’s expansion without any idea of how much it will cost,” IAG CE Willie Walsh said. “We have zero confidence in Heathrow management’s ability to deliver this project while keeping airport charges flat.” While Heathrow has pledged to keep charges close to today’s level, Walsh predicted “massive cost escalation” for the project in coming years. <br/>
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IAG and Ryanair are preparing a legal complaint to the EC over what they call an “alarming” increase in air traffic control strikes. France registered a 300% increase in ATC strikes compared with last year, not including the work stoppages called by controllers in Marseille for June 23 through June 25. The airlines plan to file their legal complaint against the French govt, arguing an infringement of EU law by not adequately protecting flights over France. IAG and Ryanair claim France fails to ensure 1 of the 4 fundamental freedoms of the EU—the free movement of people traveling, for instance, from the UK or Ireland to Spain. “I’m no fan of litigation but enough is enough. Something has to be done,” IAG's Willie Walsh said, urging national govts and the commission to take “urgent and decisive” action. <br/>
The govt is considering retrenching the excess staff of SriLankan airlines by measures such as voluntary retirement schemes, a report says. The airline will appoint a task force for the implementation of a proposal made by the committee appointed to look into the financial situation of the carrier. The airline is estimated to have an excess staff of 2,000 and that some 1,000 employees are between the ages of 50 and 55. By March 31, 2018, the carrier had incurred a loss of US$107m. The committee, in its report submitted to Public Enterprise Development minister Lakshman Kiriella, said the airline is hopeful of reducing the losses and had recommended that legacy liabilities should be removed from the balance sheet as early as possible. <br/>