Heathrow has been told to cut its fees per passenger – not before time

The London hub wants to be able to charge airlines more for landing, citing uncertainty over pandemic recovery and the need for investment, writes James Moore

Heathrow travellers have faced long queues in recent weeks (AP)

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was always going to find itself flying into turbulence over the issue of Heathrow’s charges to airlines for operating its terminals, runways and other facilities.

The airport wanted them raised, from an already chunky average of £30.19 per passenger, making it one of the world’s most expensive hubs. That number, a sharp increase on the previous £22, was announced in December last year. It was allowed by the CAA on an interim basis – in recognition of “the uncertainty of the recovery of passenger volumes at the airport from the pandemic”. The latter wasn’t helped by the emergence of Omicron.

Covid, obviously, badly dented the loss-making airport’s financial model. It did that to industries in almost every sector, including the airlines. Heathrow has now been told by the CAA to cut the charges, so they steadily fall, to £26.31 per passenger in 2026. The CAA initially set out a range of between £24.50 to £34.40 for consideration.