Heathrow told to reduce passenger charge

Heathrow must cut its passenger charges for airlines each year until 2026, the Civil Aviation Authority has said.

At the moment Heathrow charges airlines £30.19 per passenger, and the CAA says the cap on the average charge per passenger will fall to £26.31 in 2026.

Heathrow had wanted to charge £41.95 for the cost of operating terminals, runways, baggage systems and security.

Both the airport and airlines will have the option to appeal against the decision to competition regulators.

The charges are paid by airlines, but can then be passed onto passengers via airfares.

The CAA said the plan to reduce the charge "reflects expected increases in passenger numbers as the recovery from the pandemic continues and the higher level of the price cap in 2022, which was put in place in 2021 to reflect the challenges from the pandemic at the time".

In December 2021, Heathrow was given permission to raise the passenger charge from £19.60 to £30.19.