Heathrow’s plan to build a third runway will “inevitably” lead to higher air fares for passengers, aviation experts have told The i Paper.
The airport’s owners submitted their £49bn expansion plan to the Government this week, including a scheme to build over a section of the M25, which will be rerouted.
Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who wants a third runway up and running by 2035, said on Friday that increased capacity was “essential” to Britain’s economic growth.
However, some airlines – despite backing a third runway – have expressed fears that Heathrow will raise its landing charges to pay for the huge construction project.
British Airways (BA) warned that higher landing charges could bring the total fees faced by long-haul passengers to £100 per flight.
Heathrow has denied that any increases to landing fees would result in higher fares for consumers, arguing that more choice in the market will drive costs down due to heightened competition for airlines.
The current landing charge at Heathrow is set at £28 per passenger, a sum charged to the airline, which is then typically passed on to customers. The fee is set to rise to £33 from 2027.
Heathrow’s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, has suggested that the fees will have to go higher still, saying he hopes to keep them “below £50” per passenger.
Asked if air fares would have to increase, aviation expert Bernard Lavelle, of BL Aviation Consulting. said: “The short answer is yes: the prices of tickets will go up. It’s inevitable. The landing charges will go up. Airlines will pass it on to passengers. Without a doubt.
“Anything close to £50 per passenger would be incredibly high, compared to the £28 airlines passengers are paying today.”
Heathrow wants to build 3,500m third runway to boost capacity (Photo: Alishia Abodunde/Getty)Dr Alex Chapman, senior economist at the New Economics Foundation, who is opposed to the runway, said: “It’s highly likely that paying for the expansion would require higher landing charges and hence higher ticket prices.”
Gordon Smith, airlines editor at Skift, said higher airport charges would “almost certainly translate into higher fares, as airlines build those costs into ticket prices”.
He added: “Anything close to £50 per passenger would be a huge leap – most airlines would find that beyond the pale.”
Heathrow’s chief executive claimed such a move did not need to translate into higher air fares for travellers.
“I don’t think fares will go up,” Woldbye told ITV. “Airport charges are a relatively small part of airline ticket prices. Airline ticket prices are decided by the market. When we get more choice, prices will come down.”
The west London airport’s owners argue that expansion in the range of flights offered will boost competition and ultimately bring down air fares in the long term.
But some airlines are not convinced. Sean Doyle, BA’s chief executive, claimed that Heathrow’s expansion plan could lead to a “doubling” of landing charges, which would take them from £28 to £56.
When the airline added air passenger duty tax levied by the Government, it could take long-haul flight passengers’ fees to more than £100, Doyle said.
“Heathrow is already the world’s busiest airport, yet we’re looking at costs doubling from where they are today,” he told The Telegraph. “We’re concerned about the competitiveness and the value of money that we’re able to give customers.”
BA’s owner, International Airlines Group (IAG), has also warned that higher landing fees would threaten the economic viability of the third runway.
IAG’s chief executive Luis Gallego said the third runway investment was “going to be very expensive for customers” under the current framework for landing charges and could turn some airlines off. “We risk a new runway that is going to be empty.”
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said “expansion cannot come at any cost”, warning that it may be “ultimately paid for by consumers and airlines through higher charges”.
square BUSINESS How Heathrow passengers pay world's highest airport taxes - and it could be more
Read More
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) – the industry regulator – is currently carrying out a review of landing charges. Campaigning under the Heathrow Reimagined group, some airlines – including BA and Virgin Atlantic – want the framework restructured to keep fees capped as low as possible.
Other airlines are more positive about the expansion plan. The short-haul carrier EasyJet – which does not currently use Heathrow – said a third runway was a chance to “operate from the airport at scale for the first time and bring with it lower fares for consumers”.
Heathrow says the privately-financed expansion will unlock at least 30 new destinations, increasing passenger numbers from around 80 million to 150 million a year.
Lavelle said it was a “good thing” for passengers that they will get “more choice, more routes and destinations”. But the aviation expert warned: “The landing charges mean it will come at some cost.”
The Government is now assessing the plan by Heathrow, along with a cheaper rival proposal by the Arora Group, founded by billionaire Surinder Arora.
The hotel tycoon’s company has proposed £25bn plan for a shorter third runway, which could avoid the need to divert and build over the M25.
Aviation experts said airlines would be attracted to a shorter runway if it kept costs down.
square NEWS M25 ‘road to hell’ faces years of disruption from Heathrow third runway
Read More
Industry sources said the Government could, in theory, ask Heathrow to look at a shorter runway if it wanted to minimise construction time and disruption.
“Maybe we could do with a slightly shorter runway,” Woldbye told Sky News.
Smith said: “Heathrow could ultimately opt for a slightly shorter third runway, but they’ll want to keep it long enough to handle a broad range of aircraft.
“The Arora Group’s rival plan may have some influence, but I expect Heathrow’s bid to remain in pole position.”
Climate change campaigners and residents’ groups around Heathrow remain firmly opposed to a third runway because of the “severe impact” on noise, air pollution and increased emissions.
Hundreds of homes look set to be demolished, with Heathrow’s previous plan earmarking around 750 properties for compulsory purchase.
On Friday, the Chancellor said it was “essential” for the UK to increase its airport capacity, arguing it would create jobs and opportunities for businesses.
Asked about the oppostion of the Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan’, Reeves said: “These are decisions the national government make.”
Heathrow has been approached for further comment on airlines’ claims about landing fees.
Hence then, the article about third heathrow runway means inevitable ticket price hikes passengers warned was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Third Heathrow runway means ‘inevitable’ ticket price hikes, passengers warned )
Also on site :
- Crews respond to large fire at Denny Hamlin's parents' house in Stanley: Sources
- Reported tornado rips roofs off multiple homes in central Illinois
- Heidi Klum ditches bikini top to cozy up to husband Tom Kaulitz during St. Barths vacation