London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 20, 2025

Heathrow told to cut passenger charges again

Heathrow told to cut passenger charges again

Heathrow Airport has been told to cut passenger charges for airlines next year, in a move that should feed through to ticket prices.

The Civil Aviation Authority decided lower charges were required due to passenger numbers recovering quicker after the height of the pandemic.

Passenger charges are paid by airlines and go towards costs for terminals runways, baggage systems and security.

The average charge per passenger at Heathrow for 2023 is £31.57.

But the regulator said this will fall to £25.43 in 2024 and "remain broadly flat" until the end of 2026.

Although, the charges are paid by airlines, they can impact flight prices if companies decide to pass on some costs onto passengers via airfares.

It is understood bosses at Heathrow wanted charges to actually increase to more than £40, while airlines proposed they should be no more than around £18.50.

In response to the decision, the airport said the CAA's decision made "no sense" and warned it would "do nothing for consumers".

"The CAA has chosen to cut airport charges to their lowest real terms level in a decade at a time when airlines are making massive profits and Heathrow remains loss-making because of fewer passengers and higher financing costs," Heathrow said.

The airport said the regulator should be "incentivising investment" to rebuild aviation services following the heavy blows dealt to the industry during Covid.

But the CAA said its decision to introduce lower charges from 2024 recognised that passenger numbers were expected to return to pre-pandemic levels.

It said as well as benefitting travellers in terms of lower costs, the charges would also allow the airport to continue investing in its operations, including planned upgrades to its security scanners and a new baggage system in Terminal 2.

"Our priority in making this decision today is to ensure the travelling public can expect great value for money from using Heathrow in terms of having a consistently good quality of service, whilst paying no more than is needed for it," said Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the CAA.

In 2021, Heathrow was given permission to raise the passenger charge for airlines from £19.60 to £30.19 for the summer of 2022. The aim was to help it get through the pandemic.

But British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, two of Heathrow's largest airlines, have long complained that fees at the airport, the busiest airport in western Europe, are the highest in the world.


'Abuse of power'


Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said the the regulator had "not gone far enough" in lowering passenger charges or ensuring that a "monopolistic Heathrow" was fulfilling its statutory duty to protect consumers.

"Heathrow has abused its power throughout this process, peddling false narratives and flawed passenger forecasts in an attempt to win an economic argument," he added.

Luis Gallego, chief executive of IAG, the parent company of British Airways, said "high charges" were "designed to reward shareholders at the expense of customers" and risked undermining the competitiveness of Heathrow.

Willie Walsh, director-general of the International Air Transport Association, which represents airlines, said the regulator was "hostage to Heathrow's pessimistic passenger outlook", and added the decision still meant airlines and passengers would "continue to pay one of the highest airport charges in the world".

"Given that Heathrow have succeeded in securing this generous settlement, we'll be watching their performance this summer and beyond very closely. Any repeat of the failures we have seen over the past few years would be totally unacceptable," he added.

Luggage piled up on some days last summer at Heathrow


Last summer, many airports across the UK struggled to cope with demand for international travel returning, with flights delayed and cancelled due to staff shortages. Many workers in the travel industry lost their jobs at the start the of the pandemic.

Mr Moriarty said the CAA had "considered the sharply differing views" from Heathrow and the airlines about the level of fees.

"Understandably, their respective shareholder interests led the airport to argue for higher charges and the airlines to argue for lower charges," he added.

Both airlines and the airport have six weeks to appeal the decision.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
×