As the covid crisis depresses air travel, London’s Heathrow airport will charge departing passengers an additional 8.90 pounds ($12.40) to recoup costs. The tariff has been approved by the UK’s aviation regulator as part of a protocol that allows the hub to cover costs such as electricity, luggage, and check-in services. According to a statement released on Sunday, Heathrow makes “zero profit” from such operations, with fees covering operational and maintenance costs.
Heathrow has been especially hard hit by the pandemic, as it depends heavily on long-haul markets that have all but disappeared. Last week, the airport reported a 2 billion-pound loss for 2020, citing a 73% decrease in passengers’ number, as a justification for its failure to cover the costs of delivering certain services.
According to the general notice dated February 4th, that outlines the price increase, the new per-passenger levy, or Airport Cost Recovery Payment, will be levied for the rest of this year and was negotiated with airlines as the preferred way for Heathrow to recover its costs.
Heathrow, which is owned by the Spanish construction group Ferrovial SA, the Qatar Investment Authority, private equity firm Alinda Capital Partners, and China Investment Corp., will levy a 4.44-pound fee on each piece of passenger luggage as specified in the general notice.
Separately, the Civil Aviation Authority is discussing if Heathrow should be allowed to temporarily increase the fees it charges airlines, until a longer-term regulatory agreement takes effect next year. Heathrow has called for a move that would increase fares by 1.20 pounds per passenger, according to the airport.
Since some baggage-related expenses were included in the passenger tax, the number is lower than the one announced on December 16th, last year.
