Passenger charges to jump at Heathrow

The Civil Aviation Authority has given Heathrow the green light to boost charges by more than 50%.

However, the increase was less than the airport had hoped for.

The CAA said the price per passenger cap would increase to £29.50 in 2020 prices, or £30.19 once adjusted for inflation, coming into effect on 1 January. The current price control, set at £19.60, expires on 31 December.

The charges are paid by airlines but are generally passed onto passengers.

The CAA said: "This value is in line with our consultation and reflects the uncertainty of the recovery of the passenger volumes at the airport from the pandemic, particularly following the emergence of new information about the Omicron variant since the end of the consultation period."

A spokesperson for Heathrow told the Press Association that they were "extremely disappointed", however. The airport had called for a cap in the range of £32 to £43, and said the CAA’s analysis had been "rushed".

He added: "There are material and basic errors in many aspects of the CAA’s assessment. Uncorrected, this risks leaving Heathrow without sufficient cash flow to support investment in improving passenger service and resilience."

The cap is an interim one, and the financial decision on licence modifications for a new five-year control period will not be made until summer 2022.

In October, Heathrow said it did not expect passenger numbers to return to normal until "at least" 2026. The airport also reported a 27% slide in revenues in the nine months to 30 September, to £951m, while pre-tax losses came in at £1.4bn.