Latest news with #IAGSA
The National
5 days ago
- Business
- The National
Heathrow expansion plan triggers airlines fury
London's Heathrow Airport risked a new breach with its airlines on Friday as it said it would increase fees to pay for a £10bn expansion to deliver 10 million extra passengers a year. Heathrow served almost 40 million passengers in the six months to June but says it can up numbers by faster security and baggage handling, as well as AI systems to improve punctuality. There would also be new lounges, shops and restaurants within existing terminals. Airlines are hostile saying the passenger ends up footing the bill for Heathrow's rising bills. Virgin Atlantic said 'it is ultimately consumers and airlines that pay the bill,' while British Airways owner IAG SA called the increase in charges 'excessive'. The airport has proposed bumping up landing charges from a current average of £28.46 to £33.26 per person in 2027 to be able to deliver the project. The extra charges are subject to approval by the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and would kick in by 2031 at Europe's busiest airport. It has previously asked Heathrow to reduce fees charged to carriers. The carriers have launched a campaign to break the stranglehold of the operator on the airport. The airport hasn't yet finished installing next-generation security scanners, which don't require passengers to remove liquids and electronic items from hand luggage. Executives say there is no alternative to major investments as the airport gears up to deliver a third runway that would increase flight capacity. "This major infrastructure programme marks Heathrow's most significant transformation in over a decade," said chief executive Thomas Woldbye. "To compete with global hubs, we must invest." Infrastructure at the airport and its surrounding support facilities, controlled by other bodies, is creaking. Heathrow was closed for almost an entire day earlier this year after a 'preventable, technical fault' led to the fire at an electrical substation. It was probably caused by moisture that had been present in electrical components for seven years but went 'unaddressed', a review by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) has found.
Bloomberg
21-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Stock Movers: IAG, Douglas, Wetherspoon
On this episode of Stock Movers: - London's Heathrow airport will close all day Friday after a nearby fire caused a major power outage, throwing one of the world's busiest airports and the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of people into chaos. Home to airlines including IAG SA's British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, Heathrow handles more than 1,400 flights and 200,000 passengers every day, and about 40 aircraft take off every hour at peak times on average. The airport, by far the biggest in the UK, is a major hub for trans-Atlantic travel as well as connections into the Middle East and Asia. While London has other airfields, including Gatwick and the smaller Stansted near Cambridge, Heathrow handles the lion's share of air connections, and an outage on the current scale is unprecedented for the airfield. - Douglas shares fall as much as 23%, the most ever and to a record low after the German beauty product retailer issued a profit warning, citing increasing competition and a consumer slowdown in France and Germany, its two biggest markets. - J D Wetherspoon shares slide as much as 12%, hitting a two-year low, after Shore Capital said it expects consensus estimates to fall after the pub chain's results came in softer than anticipated in the first half. Jefferies said it sees limited scope for its valuation multiple to expand due to concerns circling around the UK consumer.
