Bmi is urging the Civil Aviation Authority to investigate Heathrow owner BAA as the airline confirmed the suspension of London-Glasgow flights.
The carrier claimed the airport operator was “unreasonably discriminating” against domestic passengers and domestic carriers from Heathrow.
Increases in domestic passenger charges at Heathrow by more than 50% from April 1 are being blamed by Bmi for the decision to drop its seven flights a week between London and Glasgow from March 27.
The move, which has prompted opposition from Scottish agents, comes as Bmi expands its international network from Heathrow. The airline said it was launching a complaint against the increased domestic passenger fees.
Bmi said it remained “committed to Scotland and Northern Ireland and regards its United Kingdom and Ireland network as part of its core business”.
It said it will continue to focus on strongholds like Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Belfast City, each operating six times a day, and to Dublin operating five times a day.
“Manchester is also an important market for Bmi and the airline will offer four flights a day to Heathrow which provides ideal connections to the rest of the Bmi and Star Alliance partner network from Heathrow,” the airline said.
New daily flights will operate to Bergen and Stavanger in Norway from April 1 while Casablanca will be served four times a week and Marrakech three times a week.
Bmi A320 aircraft will also be used on some services run by owner Lufthansa from Birmingham and Manchester to Frankfurt from March 27.
“The aircraft are being fully refurbished and will offer a full service business class and economy product according to Lufthansa standards,” Bmi said.
Chief executive Wolfgang Prock Schauer described the changes as reflecting Bmi’s network strategy “to have a stronger focus on international routes”.
He said: “London Heathrow is the home of Bmi and as the second largest airline at Heathrow we will continue to offer our customers attractive business and leisure destinations.
“To meet the clear demand for further growth, we are offering new direct services to Norway and Morocco which builds on our network strategy to focus on international routes whilst still providing key domestic connectivity to London Heathrow.
“This news follows the recent announcement of new flights from Heathrow to the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and a double daily service from Heathrow to Beirut.
In addition we have just launched new services from Heathrow and Manchester to Basel in Switzerland in partnership with SWISS.
“A strong part of our network strategy within the Lufthansa group of airlines is a focus on connecting key cities and strengthening our hubs.
“The latest co-operation with Lufthansa from both Birmingham and Manchester to Frankfurt is just another example of how we can further enhance the service offering to the customers of both airlines by working closely together.”