Cheaper Airfares on the Horizon
Passengers flying into one of Europe’s largest airports may see slightly cheaper airfares in 2024.
New Government Regulation
A new government regulation is reducing the amount of fees that London’s Heathrow airport can collect from airlines per passenger by 20 percent. Specifically, Heathrow Airport’s fees charged to airlines for using the airport will decrease from £31.57 (or $38.04) per passenger to £25.43 (or $30.64) per passenger, a spokesperson for the UK Civil Aviation Authority confirmed to iBestTravel.
According to Richard Moriarty, Chief Executive at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, “Our priority in making this decision today is to ensure that the traveling public can expect great value for money from using Heathrow in terms of having a consistently good quality of service, whilst paying no more than is needed for it.” This decision was characterized as “final,” taking into account the anticipated rebound of travel volumes in a post-pandemic environment.
Contention Among Stakeholders
However, while this may be good news for travelers, not everyone is pleased with this decision. London’s Heathrow Airport is owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Limited, which has expressed disagreement with the CAA regarding this change. A spokesperson stated, “This makes no sense and will do nothing for consumers at a time when the CAA should be incentivizing investment to rebuild service. We will now take some time to carefully consider our next steps.”
This ongoing tug of war over airport fees highlights a complex relationship among airport operators, airlines, and government authorities. Heathrow Airport Limited emphasizes that while airlines are seeing substantial profits, the airport itself is struggling financially due to low passenger volumes and increased financing costs.
In January 2023, over 5.4 million passengers flew through Heathrow according to airport data.
