![]() ![]() ![]() “There are material and basic errors in many aspects of the CAA’s assessment. “This is even lower than we were able to achieve in 2020, when we served half as many passengers with only one runway and two terminals operating and the benefit of a government furlough scheme,” the airport said. Heathrow said it was “extremely disappointed in this interim decision from the CAA”, saying the increase had relied on rushed analysis that undershot its own budget by £173m. The increase will only apply for the first six months of 2022, with a decision on the fee that will apply for the next five years set to be come into force in the summer. The CAA said the £30.19 fee reflected “the uncertainty of the recovery of passenger volumes at the airport from the pandemic, particularly following the emergence of new information about the omicron variant of Covid-19 since the end of the consultation period”. The levy is likely to be directly passed on to travellers, as airlines also try to shore up finances after months of travel disruption caused by Covid restrictions. He called on the UK government to intervene and “remind the CAA of its obligations” to consumers. “It’s an outrageous result, ensuring that the economic hit everyone had to take from Covid-19 never applies to them.” On Thursday, Iata expressed its “disgust” with the announcement, with Walsh claiming at the CAA had “basically ordered consumers to pay over £700m to Heathrow for nothing in return”, and that only Heathrow’s shareholders would benefit. ![]() ![]() Willie Walsh, a former chief executive of British Airway’s owner, IAG, who now leads the global airline body Iata, accused the airport of “gouging” its customers. Heathrow’s demands had already caused contention among the airline industry. ![]()
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