International Airlines Group chief executive Luis Gallego said the regulatory model used to determine the west London airport’s charges is ‘not fit for purpose’
British Airways’ chiefs have threatened to pull the plug on support for Heathrow’s expansion unless the passenger fee system gets a major makeover.
Luis Gallego, the boss of the airline’s parent group, IAG, slammed the current charges setup as “not fit for purpose” during an Airlines UK event in London. The IAG chief spoke out amid speculation that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is poised to rubber-stamp a third runway at Heathrow.
Mr said: “I think the regulatory model that we have is not fit for purpose. All the investments in Heathrow are too high and in the end we transfer that to the customers.
“As a consequence of that, Heathrow is the most expensive airport in the world but the experiences of customers are not comparable to other places. So we want to develop Heathrow and we support the development if we have the right regulatory model.”
Asked if IAG would not support expansion if the current regulatory model remains, he replied: “Yes.” Regulatory the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) determines the cap on per passenger charges that airlines must pay to Heathrow. Heathrow and the CAA were approached for a comment.
