There has been talk of reducing passenger charges at Heathrow Airport

Heathrow has been asked by the Civil Aviation Authority to reduce passenger charges for airlines every year until 2026.

The regulator said the reduction in charges would reflect recent returns in passenger numbers, but would still allow the airport to invest.

But Heathrow, who wanted the allegations raised, said the move would weaken the distribution of key improvements.

Charges are paid by the airlines, but can then be sent to passengers via airfare.

Fees go towards operating terminals, runways, luggage systems and security.

At the moment, the average charge per passenger at Heathrow is £ 30.19, and the CAA says it will drop to .3 26.31 by 2026. However, Heathrow wanted to raise it to £ 41.95

The CAA said the charge reduction “reflects the expected increase in passenger numbers as recovery from the epidemic continues and higher levels of price cap in 2022, which was done in 2021 to reflect the challenges from the epidemic at that time.”

In December 2021, Heathrow was allowed to increase passenger charges from 19.60 to £ 30.19.

CAA chief executive Richard Moriarty said the charge cut was “about doing the right thing for consumers”.

“We have listened very carefully to both Heathrow Airport and the airlines who have differing views with each other about future charge levels,” he said.

“Our independent and impartial analysis maintains an affordable balance for consumers, while allowing Heathrow to make the necessary investments for the future.”

However, Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said the regulator “continues to underestimate what it takes to provide a good passenger service in terms of the level of investment and the necessary operating costs and the fair incentives needed to finance private investors”.

“Uncorrected, these elements of the CAA’s proposal will only result in passengers experiencing a worse experience at Heathrow as investment in services dries up,” he said.

Mr Moriarty told the BBC’s Today program that the recovery force could reduce money charges “as more passengers arrive”.

However, he said the cap would still allow Heathrow to invest £ 3.6 billion, including a new baggage system for Terminal 2.

Earlier this month, 5,000 passengers were affected by the cancellation of the Heathrow flight due to problems with the luggage system.

Mr Moriarty said the problem of leaving disabled passengers on the plane after other passengers had landed, highlighted by the BBC’s security correspondent Frank Gardner, meant the airport must “increase its play”.

“When it comes to disruption, everyone in aviation wants to avoid the scenes we’ve seen over the last few months,” he said.

“Everyone is working really hard to bring new people into the system with recruitment and we’ve put pressure on airlines to make their schedules available to passengers over the next few months.”

He said offers should exceed মূল্য 4 by 2026 from the price of a ticket to Heathrow. At the moment, the £ 30.19 charge makes up about 5% of New York’s typical rental costs from Heathrow.

Shy Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said the regulator “could and would go further to reduce the cap” from its proposals.

“As travel recovery continues, our combined focus should be on maintaining the best possible experience for customers with fair charges, especially in the face of customer life pressures and our global aspirations at risk.”

One of the plans put forward by the aviation regulator is its final proposal, with a final decision on arrears in the autumn.

Once the CAA has made a final decision on the charge, both the airport and the airline will have the option to appeal the decision to the competition regulator.