Heathrow forced to cut airline landing fees by UK watchdog

Heathrow airport will be forced to trim the landing fees it charges airlines following an intervention by the competition regulator.  The UK Civil Aviation Authority on Thursday said charges will be capped at GBP23.73 per passenger in 2025, and GBP23.71 in 2026, about 6% lower than planned. It changed its calculations following a ruling from the Competition and Markets Authority in October, which intervened in a long-running and acrimonious row between the UK’s hub airport and its main airline customers. The competition regulator had given its qualified backing to the CAA’s original decision on charges, but said at the time there were some issues to re-examine, including how pension payments are reflected in the charges. The CAA’s decision on Wednesday marks the end of a years-long dispute between Heathrow and airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, over whether the airport should be allowed to increase its fees during the regulatory period that runs from 2022 to 2026. The charges are typically passed straight on to passengers through ticket prices. Heathrow had originally pushed to be allowed to charge much higher fees — as much as GBP40 per passenger — in part to help it recoup some of its losses from during the pandemic, when air travel was curtailed.<br/>