The UK’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) is reportedly facing opposition from some of the board members for its plans to raise $3.8bn from airlines and customers by increasing prices.
The Telegraph reported that through this plan, the airport authorities intend to recover the losses incurred due to the Covid-19 by the pandemic.
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Qatar Airways (QTR), which is the second-biggest shareholder, was quoted by the Telegraph as saying: “The plan is unreasonable, not in the consumer interest and should be rejected.”
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had also rejected the airport’s demand to alter a complex regulatory setup.
A spokesman for Heathrow told the publication that a regulatory adjustment is required to reduce prices for consumers.
Given that the airport depends on long-haul markets, it has been hit particularly hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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By GlobalDataDue to the ban on non-essential travel and quarantine rules, passenger volumes at the airport saw a drastic drop, hitting their lowest level since 1966.
In 2020, Heathrow posted a $2.7bn (£2bn) pretax loss.
In February, Heathrow Airport pitched two forward-thinking ideas to Innovate UK’s Future Flight Challenge.
The win provides the airport with the opportunity to research new pioneering concepts that facilitate a reduction in emission and cost, thereby making the airport more efficient as the industry works to recover from the Covid-19 impact.
The two successful projects being researched by Heathrow include Fly2Plan and Project NAPKIN.
