Virgin boss urges ‘level playing field’ for airlines at expanded Heathrow
MPs must launch an inquiry into the allocation of take-off and landing slots at an expanded Heathrow to ensure a “level playing field”, the boss of a leading airline has said.
Shai Weiss, the chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, has said the current rules around slot allocation allow IAG, the owner of British Airways, to operate as a monopoly at the hub airport with a holding of over 55 per cent of all take off and landing slots.
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“As things stand, International Airlines Group holds over 55 per cent of all take-off and landing slots at Heathrow, with no other airlines having more than 5 per cent of capacity,” Weiss said in a letter to Lilian Greenwood, the chair of the Transport Select Committee.
“One group’s stranglehold on out nation’s hub airport means that all other airlines do not compete effectively on anything approaching a level playing field and passengers are paying the price.”
He added: “Expansion offers a genuine once in a lifetime opportunity to shake up the market in favour of creating strong competition, greater choice and lower fares for consumers and business.”
Weiss said that while the current rules for allocating airport capacity work on a season-by-season basis, there is a “growing consensus they are ill-suited to the unique scale and circumstances of Heathrow expansion, particularly the need to deliver on a wide range of policy objectives such as domestic connectivity and effective competition”.
A spokesperson for IAG said: “Cost effective expansion of Heathrow will enable more airlines to fly from the airport and we welcome the additional competition. However slot allocation should be undertaken according to IATA’s [International Air Transport Association] internationally agreed and very effective world slot guidelines.”
Earlier this week Heathrow revealed its “masterplan” for its £14.4bn runway, alongside a 12-week consultation.
The airport will reveal how it plans to reduce emissions and noise – two areas that campaigners have circled out as areas of concern – as well as a proposed ban on night flights.
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Images released by the airport reveal that the third runway, which is due to open in 2026, could be built over the M25, one of the country’s busiest roads.
The airport wants to stagger the rest of the plans, including the expansion of terminal five, until 2050 to phase in the increase in passenger numbers gradually to minimise disruption.The responses Heathrow receives from residents will inform its Development Consent Order application (DCO), the legislation that is need to expand the airport and is due to be submitted next year.