Airport charges at Heathrow and Gatwick set to rise

21 November 2007

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), UK''s aviation regulator, has proposed "significant" increases in the amount of money airlines must pay to use London''s two main airports, Heathrow and Gatwick.

According to the CAA, higher charges will allow airport operator BAA to improve customer service standards at the sites. The Competition Commission slammed BAA earlier in the year for the quality of service provided to air passengers.

The competition watchdog was particularly critical of the long queues faced by travellers at the airports.

In order to improve standards the CAA is now proposing airlines should pay £11.97 per passenger to land at Heathrow in 2008/09, an increase of 15.6 per cent in real terms on the current price cap for the airport.

At Gatwick, it is proposed airlines should pay a landing charge of £6.07 per passenger – representing an 8.2 per cent increase on the current level.

According to CAA, although the proposed increases are significant, particularly at Heathrow, they also reflect the higher costs BAA faces in terms of funding security operations and spending on capital projects.