CAA to consult on next stage of Heathrow airline charges

Initial proposals for the maximum fees that Heathrow can charge airlines for using the airport from January 2027 until the end of 2031 have been published by the aviation regulator.

The Civil Aviation Authority is now consulting on a “range” for its proposals, which will set the cap on airport charges at between £27.20 and £30.50 per passenger.

The mid-point of the range implies an average charge of £28.80 compared to average charges of £28.40 over the current price control period covering 2022-26.

“Our mid-point is some 16% or £5.40 lower than HAL’s [Heathrow’s] forecast and some 25% or £5.80 higher than the airlines’ proposed charges,” the CAA said.

It stressed that the proposals for the next Heathrow price control are separate from work being conducting to support capacity expansion with a third runway at Heathrow. 

“The proposals also set incentives for Heathrow to improve both its service quality standards and environmental performance,” the regulator noted.

Heathrow’s proposed £10 billion worth of investment on existing facilities would result in an airport charge of £33.26. In real terms, this would mean a passenger in 2031 paying a lower airport charge than they did in 2014 for delivering better service, the airport contends.

The CAA noted: “Heathrow is planning to invest billions in the coming years to improve airport resilience as well as improvements in consumer services, including baggage handling and security.

“The multi-year price caps allow Heathrow to recover efficient costs while setting out incentives for cost-effective investment.”

Separately from the third runway, capacity-squeezed Heathrow plans to raise capacity by 10 million passengers within the current terminals, helping airlines to fly larger, fuller aircraft.

CAA consumer and markets group director Selina Chadha said: “Our primary duty is to protect consumers and at the heart of today’s proposals is doing the right thing for passengers using Heathrow airport, while supporting sustainable growth, investment, and efficiency. 

“Our proposals for the airport charges levied by Heathrow on airlines strike the right balance between keeping passenger prices fair, while enabling the airport to make the investment needed to improve services for the future. We encourage all stakeholders to provide us with their views on our initial proposals.”

The CAA will publish its final proposals for the H8 price control in November followed by a final decision in April 2027.