Airlines voice anger over Heathrow’s plan to ramp up landing fees
Airlines have plunged into a bitter new row with Heathrow as the airport wants to double landing fees to help it recover losses built up during the pandemic. The UK’s busiest airport wants to raise charges for airlines by more than 90 per cent over the next five years, sparking a furious backlash from airlines struggling from Covid-19 losses. The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which regulates Heathrow’s charges, is expected to publish its views next week. Heathrow says it is in discussions with airlines over raising fees from GBP19.36 per passenger to GBP37.63, which it argues is the only way it can make up for pandemic-related losses, while the airlines can directly pass on extra costs to passengers through ticket prices. The airport said its proposal would add only 4% to the overall cost of an average passenger ticket, and said it had been lowering its charges before the crisis struck. “As we emerge from the pandemic, the vast majority of airports right across the UK and the world are having to increase their prices — it’s not a uniquely Heathrow phenomenon, but a legitimate response to keep airports operating and supporting their national and local economies,” Heathrow said. However, the backlash from the airlines has been fierce. “Heathrow’s plan will thwart our industry’s ability to support the recovery of UK businesses,” said Luis Gallego, CE of International Airlines Group (IAG). Virgin Atlantic said Heathrow should turn to its shareholders before “loading the burden on to paying customers and an industry already severely hampered by Covid-19”. Willie Walsh, the former BA and IAG boss, who heads the global airlines lobby group Iata, said: “Placing the financial burden of a crisis of apocalyptic proportions on the backs of your customers, just because you can, is a commercial strategy only a monopoly supplier could dream up. Heathrow must understand that gouging its customers is not the road to recovery for itself, the airlines, travel and tourism jobs, or travellers.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-10-14/general/airlines-voice-anger-over-heathrow2019s-plan-to-ramp-up-landing-fees
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Airlines voice anger over Heathrow’s plan to ramp up landing fees
Airlines have plunged into a bitter new row with Heathrow as the airport wants to double landing fees to help it recover losses built up during the pandemic. The UK’s busiest airport wants to raise charges for airlines by more than 90 per cent over the next five years, sparking a furious backlash from airlines struggling from Covid-19 losses. The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which regulates Heathrow’s charges, is expected to publish its views next week. Heathrow says it is in discussions with airlines over raising fees from GBP19.36 per passenger to GBP37.63, which it argues is the only way it can make up for pandemic-related losses, while the airlines can directly pass on extra costs to passengers through ticket prices. The airport said its proposal would add only 4% to the overall cost of an average passenger ticket, and said it had been lowering its charges before the crisis struck. “As we emerge from the pandemic, the vast majority of airports right across the UK and the world are having to increase their prices — it’s not a uniquely Heathrow phenomenon, but a legitimate response to keep airports operating and supporting their national and local economies,” Heathrow said. However, the backlash from the airlines has been fierce. “Heathrow’s plan will thwart our industry’s ability to support the recovery of UK businesses,” said Luis Gallego, CE of International Airlines Group (IAG). Virgin Atlantic said Heathrow should turn to its shareholders before “loading the burden on to paying customers and an industry already severely hampered by Covid-19”. Willie Walsh, the former BA and IAG boss, who heads the global airlines lobby group Iata, said: “Placing the financial burden of a crisis of apocalyptic proportions on the backs of your customers, just because you can, is a commercial strategy only a monopoly supplier could dream up. Heathrow must understand that gouging its customers is not the road to recovery for itself, the airlines, travel and tourism jobs, or travellers.”<br/>
