Heathrow faces pressure to drop rise in landing fees

Heathrow faces pressure to drop rise in landing fees

Heathrow is under pressure to drop plans for higher landing charges after the airport welcomed the most travellers since the start of the pandemic . Almost 4.2m passengers used Heathrow in March, the highest level for two years. Meanwhile, experts said this week’s Easter schedule will hit 86pc of 2019 levels at the airport. Heathrow increased the landing fees it charges airlines by a third in January and wants to increase them by up to 90pc of levels over the next five years. The airport is forecasting it will welcome 45.5m passengers in 2022, considerably more than 19.4m people that passed through its terminals last year – but a far cry from the 80.9 million in 2019. Heathrow said the landing charge increases were required so that it can cover costs based on lower passenger numbers. Airlines are angry about its plans, which must be signed off by the Civil Aviation Authority. A spokesman for Virgin Atlantic said: “Heathrow is set to be the busiest airport in Europe this year, with its March passenger figures demonstrating the gathering pace of recovery. Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic is expecting a return to 100pc of 2019 flying, during summer peak this year.” “To protect