Holidaymakers flying from Heathrow or Gatwick airport may soon have to pay a “congestion charge” under new plans drawn up by ministers. (Featured image by Heathrow Airport)
The plans are part of a bid to reduce the number of flights in and out of the two airports, which are the busiest in the UK.
Heathrow is already operating at full capacity, Gatwick is expected to be full in six years, and the UK as a whole is facing air capacity challenges.
The congestion charge plans would see passengers on flights at the two London hubs pay as much 50 per cent more Air Passenger Duty (APD) than other airports.
If the plans were enforced, passengers flying economy class from Heathrow to New York, for example, would pay £32.50 in APD.
Research by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has found that these measures would reduce the number of passengers flying from Heathrow from 23.1 million to 18.9 million. From Gatwick, passenger numbers would fall from 15.1 million to 12.8 million a year.
The Treasury has said that the HMRC research was merely to “inform policy-making in general”, but some in the aviation industry have been quick to criticise the findings.
Birmingham Airport has backed a congestion charge, but Heathrow has stated that the charge would play into the hands of the UK’s competitors.
“Long-haul flights forced out of Heathrow by the higher taxes would not go to other UK airports – they would go to our European competitors in Paris, Frankfurt or Amsterdam,” a spokesman told the Daily Telegraph.
“The economic growth and trade deals that come with these flights would then benefit Europe, not the UK,” he added.
Business-lobbying organisation the Confederation of British Industry has also criticised the plans, saying that increased airport capacity, rather than higher fees, is the answer to Britain’s aviation problems.
“We’re already losing business to other European destinations so we can’t kick this into the long grass,” a spokesman told the Daily Telegraph.
“We need new connections with fast-growing markets like India, China and South America – with space for airlines to put on new flights.”
