AIRLINES
have warned the Civil Aviation Authority’s proposed increase in charges at BAA
airports will result in higher airfares.
Carriers
at Heathrow face an increase in charges of around 40% over the next five years
after the CAA proposed a price cap of £6.48, rising by 6.5% a year.
Gatwick
has been set at £4.32, while proposed charges for Stansted are set at £4.89.
The
CAA predicted the increases will allow BAA to meet its £7.7 billion ten-year
investment programme, including the building of Terminal 5 at Heathrow.
Virgin
Atlantic chief executive Steve Ridgway said: “These increases are wholly
unjustified – calculations based on BAA’s own figures show that all of BAA’s
capital expenditure including Terminal 5 could be funded without any increase in
charges.
“It
is difficult to see how the airlines can avoid passing these extra costs onto
passengers.”
Ryanair
was angered with the proposed charges for Stansted. Michael O’Leary said:
“This is clearly unfair and the proposed price cap fails to force Stansted
to improve its efficiency and develop facilities that are not
gold-platted.”