CAA: Higher charges needed to improve airports

The Civil Aviation Authority has proposed that airlines pay higher charges to use Heathrow and Gatwick airports in order for facilities at the hubs to be improved.

Airport regular the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has recommended that the charges paid by airlines to use Heathrow and Gatwick be increased in 2008-09 in order to facilitate improvements at the airports.

The CAA proposed that carriers pay £11.97 per passenger to use Heathrow in 2008-09, which represents an increase of 15.6 per cent, and £6.07 at Gatwick, which would be an 8.2 per cent hike.

Airport operator BAA would be expected to use this additional funding to upgrade services and facilities at the London hubs and improve security.

Harry Bush, CAA group director for economic regulation, said: "Passengers and airlines deserve better than they have been provided with at Heathrow and Gatwick in recent years, but need to recognise that improvements have to be paid for.

"The CAA considers it only right that, as airlines and passengers face the prospect of paying more to use each airport…there should be greater financial incentives on the airport operator to deliver the facilities and services that give rise to those price increases."

In response to the proposals, easyJet pointed out that BAA controls over 90 per cent of airport capacity in London and said that the CAA's proposals give the operator the freedom to set its own prices.

The airline described this as "unusual" and called for a "root and branch restructure of how the UK's monopoly airports are regulated".

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