We Have a Once in a Generation Opportunity to Get Heathrow Right For Consumers
By Luis Gallego (IAG CEO), Corneel Koster (Virgin Atlantic CEO) and Nigel Wicking (CEO Heathrow Airline Operators' Committee).
The imminent transition to a new Prime Minister raises the stakes for Heathrow airport: how expansion is delivered now matters as much as whether it happens at all.
Aviation matters – to economies, to people, to businesses. Across the UK, 1 in 10 people are connected to the aviation industry. Businesses of every size depend on air freight to move goods through global supply chains, with over 25% of the UK’s exports by value handled at Heathrow, from automotive parts to electronics, food, and pharmaceuticals. The UK needs a competitive global hub airport to keep connections alive and supply chains open.
As the UK’s only passenger hub airport and the key cargo airport, Heathrow is strategic national infrastructure and the primary gateway for economic activity. It should be a national priority for this island nation to have an effective and cost-efficient hub airport enabling Britain to compete effectively over the long-term. We now have a once in a generation opportunity to get it right.
The Government’s recent decision to bring forward an updated Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement marks a decisive moment for UK aviation and signals a clear move from debate to delivery. Yet unless the framework is matched with meaningful reform, there is a real risk that expansion will be delivered in a way that is detrimental, placing unbearable costs on passengers and airlines, driving demand and capacity away.
The key question is: can the new government deliver expansion affordably? Under its owner’s current plans the cost of Heathrow’s development could exceed £100 billion over the next 25 years resulting in passengers paying £50 or more on top of their flight cost. We believe that charges should stay more or less flat. These incredibly high costs are a consequence of how Heathrow is regulated, driving incentives for excessive capital spending while passing all risks onto consumers through higher charges.
Together we have spearheaded a campaign to drive regulatory change at Heathrow. We believe the UK deserves a solution that creates value for consumers, delivers lasting jobs, enhances passenger choice and experience, and allows the aviation sector and its broader supply chain to thrive.
We urge the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to choose a solution that protects consumers and enables a third runway to be delivered by 2035. Businesses and airlines across the industry – from low-cost carriers, trade organisations and airport service providers – have been clear in their support for us. The solution is straightforward: a cap on affordable charges and introducing competition to better serve the needs of Heathrow passengers.
Introducing competition at Heathrow would bring in fresh ideas, drive down costs, and spread risk.
While competition will help, we also need rigorous oversight. A truly independent body reviewing major spending decisions before they happen, full transparency, and real consequences when targets aren't met with the power to hold any promoter, including Heathrow Airport Limited, to account. Airlines will have to scrutinise and rigorously challenge every proposal – we won’t write a blank cheque – risking years of delays.
The CAA must ensure that its reforms correct the long-standing structural flaws in how Heathrow is regulated and expanded. By capping passenger charges close to current levels, projects have to be delivered efficiently and affordably, placing the developer – not consumers – on the hook for cost overruns.
The only way to deliver an affordable and successful third runway on time is for all stakeholders, including Government and the CAA, to work together. Without this fundamental reform, Heathrow expansion is in jeopardy and runs the risk of major delays and ballooning costs.
We want to avoid repeats of issues seen in projects like HS2 and the Lower Thames Crossing, which have been plagued by spiralling costs and delays.
The incoming Prime Minister now has a defining opportunity to get Heathrow right: expansion delivered on time, at an affordable cost, with competition, oversight and partnership at its core. In turn, a successful third runway will strengthen the UK’s global connectivity, create lasting jobs and improve passenger choice.