Article from BTNews 4 MARCH 2019
Agreement on Heathrow charges
A landmark deal on airport charges worth hundreds of millions of pounds with airlines operating at the airport was announced by Heathrow last week “following detailed negotiations over the past several months”.
Officials said the airport and its major carriers had agreed terms which should deliver significant passenger benefits in releasing funds to drive investment and growth.
A statement said the CAA had supported the negotiation of the commercial arrangement and is expected to launch a public consultation on the solution in the coming weeks.
The airport noted airlines at Heathrow currently operate with average load factors below the IATA global average, whereas if they reached global averages for filling aircraft “there is an opportunity to reduce passenger charges by 10%-20% against what they might otherwise be”.
This would be in addition to helping Heathrow to meet the government’s affordability target for expansion – with more passengers on each existing flight, the airport could spread costs across a larger passenger base, helping to keep charges close to 2016 levels in real terms.
Airport CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “We’ve worked hard with the airlines to agree a deal on airport charges to 2021. We are delighted the result is the first commercial agreement at Heathrow which will unlock hundreds of millions of pounds of potential investment for our passengers.”
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