Heathrow chief defends steep rise in landing charges despite revenue leap

Heathrow boss Colin Matthews says investors, who have spent £11bn on the airport since 2003, need to see 'a fair and market return'The boss of Heathrow has defended steep rises in landing charges that will push up air fares by saying returns to investors now have to come first, despite a leap in revenues at the airport on the back of record passenger numbers in 2012.Spending on the airport facilities is to slow over the next five years while charges rise, but chief executive Colin Matthews said: "What we need to do now is to make a fair and market return to shareholders."The largest shareholder remains the consortium led by the Spanish Ferrovial group, which bought BAA for £10bn in 2006, although it has sold down its former majority holding to just over a third of shares. The sovereign wealth funds of Qatar, Singapore and China own a total of over 40%, with the rest held by Canadian pension fund CPDQ and private investment firm Alinda Capital Partners.Matthews warned that investors, who he said had spent £11bn on Heathrow since 2003, would go elsewhere without returns. The airport paid a dividend of £240m last year, its first since the 2006 takeover.The airport has set out plans to raise charges by 40% in real terms over the next five years – a proposal attacked by airlines which have demanded significant cuts after steep rises in recent years, including a 12.7% rise last April that contributed to an extra £130m in levies. Around £3bn is earmarked for investment in it...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Travel & leisure Heathrow News guardian.co.uk BAA Air transport Airline industry Heathrow third runway Business Source Type: news