British Airways & Virgin Call for Heathrow Overhaul

Executives from British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have jointly urged the UK Government and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to launch an “urgent and fundamental review” of Heathrow Airport’s regulatory model amid spiraling costs and passenger charges. In an open letter published by The Times on February 10, 2025, Chief Executives Luis Gallego (British Airways) and Shai Weiss (Virgin Atlantic) warned that the planned third runway at London-Heathrow Airport would ultimately burden passengers with even higher fees.

The airline bosses contend that the existing regulatory framework for Heathrow actively encourages inefficient overspending. They highlighted that over the past two decades, more than £15 billion has been invested in capital expenditure at the airport, resulting in charges that have doubled in real terms. Gallego and Weiss argued that this overinvestment, combined with the airport’s status as Britain’s only hub airport, has left passengers paying more for a declining experience and aging infrastructure. “With runway expansion being drawn up, the scale of investment means that passenger charges will rise again. There must be wholesale reform,” the letter stated.

The executives emphasized that in 2024 alone, passengers and airlines at Heathrow paid an extra £1.1 billion compared to what they would have if the airport’s charges were aligned with those of its European peers. This discrepancy, they argued, not only undermines Heathrow’s competitiveness but also damages its hub status. They warned that any expansion—in particular, the construction of a third runway—would further escalate costs, with the additional capital expenditure being passed on to consumers.

Joining the call for reform were Nigel Wicking, head of the Heathrow Airlines Operators’ Committee (AOC), and Surinder Arora, a prominent hotel operator at the airport. Both stressed that Heathrow should be delivering an exceptional experience for passengers rather than serving as a costly and inefficient gateway. “As Britain’s only hub airport, Heathrow should offer an exceptional experience for passengers, but today it is the most expensive airport in the world,” the letter declared.

The letter criticized the current regulatory model as being outdated and failing to constrain the monopoly that has resulted in squandered spending. It urged the CAA to undertake a comprehensive review—the first detailed examination since the Competition Commission’s assessment over 15 years ago—to address the inefficiencies and ensure that any future expansion delivers value for money. Gallego and Weiss concluded by stating, “It is now time for the CAA to investigate what has gone wrong before passengers and airlines get locked into higher charges for decades to come.”

Heathrow Airport Limited has signaled its willingness to consider a new, longer-term regulatory model for the proposed third runway, with management expressing a desire to work transparently with airlines, the CAA, and government ministers. However, while Heathrow is not ruling out passing expansion costs on to airline users and ultimately consumers, the airport’s owners insist that any new model must deliver tangible benefits to the UK’s economy and maintain the airport’s competitive edge.

With the next step involving the filing of a planning application for the third runway by summer 2025—and the prospect of the new runway not becoming operational until well before 2040—the debate over Heathrow’s future remains far from resolved. As the UK aviation industry continues to recover and expand, the call for a regulatory overhaul reflects growing concerns that unchecked spending and high charges are undermining the long-term sustainability of one of the world’s busiest airports.

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