Heathrow airport might be compelled to chop its touchdown charges after demand for flying recovered from the pandemic sooner than anticipated and airways efficiently lobbied in opposition to a big enhance in costs.

The UK aviation regulator on Wednesday stated touchdown charges on the UK hub airport ought to fall from the present £31.57 per passenger to £25.43 from subsequent yr.

The costs are usually handed straight on to passengers by ticket costs. Heathrow and airways had engaged in a years-long row over whether or not the airport must be allowed to extend its charges within the aftermath of the pandemic and the autumn in passenger numbers.

Heathrow pushed to be allowed to cost a lot larger charges — as a lot as £40 per passenger — and warned that funding within the airport was in danger.

However in an more and more acrimonious dispute, airways accused the airport of worth gouging and intentionally underestimating the pace of the restoration in its passenger forecasts with a view to win a greater settlement on costs from the regulator.

Senior trade executives have warned that the dispute may rumble on, with Heathrow and the airways each given six weeks to enchantment to the Competitors and Markets Authority, the competitors watchdog.

The brand new set of costs, revealed on Wednesday, represented a closing determination from the Civil Aviation Authority for pricing within the regulatory interval between 2022 and 2026. The CAA had revealed a collection of proposals and interim costs over the previous two years.

Fees will stay at about £25 in 2025 and 2026, the CAA stated, and common out at £27.49 for the regulatory interval, reflecting larger costs in 2022 and 2023.

The regulator had final summer time proposed a median fare of £28.39 over the interval, together with a cost of £26.31 by 2026, the ultimate yr, however lowered it after contemplating the fast restoration in passenger numbers in opposition to the macroeconomic backdrop, together with excessive inflation.