Warning flight fares to rise after air charges hiked

Airlines have warned passengers will face higher fares after the UK's aviation regulator increased air traffic control charges.

The costs, paid by airlines, come after a UK air traffic control meltdown in August which led to long flight delays and left thousands stranded.

The National Air Traffic charges will rise from £47 to £64 per flight until 2027, an average £2.08 per passenger.

Airlines said the increases "cannot be justified" given the recent disruption.

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of industry body Airlines UK, said the hike in charges was "yet another kick in the teeth for passengers who have been plagued by issues this summer including the August National Air Traffic Services (Nats) IT failure".

The group, which represents the likes of British Airways, EasyJet, Jet2, Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic and Tui, said passengers would "inevitably end up footing the bill of millions of pounds for increases".

"It is clear that a wider independent review into how Nats is regulated is needed to protect passengers and ensure that airlines are not always forced to act as the insurer of last resort and bear millions of pounds of costs for failures that are not their fault," he added.

In August, around 2,000 flights at airports across the UK were cancelled when Nats's system for automatically processing flight plans failed, leaving passengers stranded.

Some people slept on airport floors or in makeshift beds, while many scrambled to rebook flights.

During the IT meltdown, airlines incurred huge costs to provide accommodation and put on more flights for customers who were stuck overseas. Some airlines, including Ryanair, have called for such costs to be covered by Nats.

The decision to increase charges by regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), is understood to be separate to the ongoing investigation into the system failure incident.

The CAA said the move would enable Nats to "recover its operating costs and finance new investment".

It said "safety is the primary statutory duty" for the company and added the charge increase was "consistent" for Nats to maintain a "safe operation".

Andrew Walker, chief economist at the CAA, said the price rise should ensure the company "provides an efficient service and value for money".

"We also recognise the disruption caused by the technical issue in August and we will consider any further regulatory steps as appropriate following the outcome of the Independent Review," he added.