Heathrow can claw back $416m in fees

Bloomberg

London’s Heathrow airport will be allowed to increase airline fees on a limited basis to help it ride out the coronavirus crisis, the UK’s aviation regulator said.
Heathrow can claw back 300 million pounds ($416 million) after submitting an application to recover 2.6 billion pounds, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said.
While its full request will be considered in a wider review, the airport said the decision risks damaging its ability to attract funding.
“The CAA has failed to deliver,” Heathrow said in a statement. “This undermines investor confidence in UK regulated businesses and puts at risk the government’s infrastructure agenda.”
Passenger numbers at what’s normally Europe’s busiest airport collapsed after curbs aimed at stemming the spread of Covid-19 effectively wiped out demand on long-haul routes.
In February, the company said it lost more than 2 billion pounds last year, though it maintains enough liquidity to see it through to 2023. Heathrow isn’t allowed to lift prices directly. It sought a boost to its regulatory asset base, the sum not recovered in airport charges that’s used in setting price controls.
British Airways owner IAG SA, the biggest carrier at Heathrow, said it was disappointed that the fees were raised at all. “Heathrow is the most expensive hub airport in the world,” the company said in a statement.
The airport had said its plan would have lifted fares by 1.20 pounds per passenger.