Impose congestion charge on Heathrow, say UK regional airports

George Osborne was today urged to impose an aviation "congestion charge" on passengers flying from Heathrow and Gatwick.

Regional airports said it was unfair for passengers to fly from packed terminals when they had huge capacity available.

In a letter to the Chancellor, the 12 airports said a "London levy" would encourage more airlines to start routes from the regions and boost economic regeneration.

Manchester, England's biggest airport outside the South-East, is operating at 57 per cent capacity, with Birmingham at 41 per cent.

Air passenger duty ranges from £11 on a short-haul hop for an economy passenger to £170 for a business class traveller going to Australia. Regional airports said people travelling from London should pay even more. The open letter was sent in response to the Chancellor's consultation on APD reform.

It says: "Current rates of APD are a barrier to airlines starting new routes to regional airports. They have no incentive to migrate from the crowded airports to those in the regions where there is capacity."

A Manchester Airport official said the Coalition did not back a particular level of extra tax but said: "Clearly it has to be enough of a gap to make a difference to passengers, but that's a matter for the Chancellor."

But a spokesman for BAA, which owns Heathrow, dismissed the idea, saying: "All airports support jobs and growth, whether via connections to the regions or links to other major economies that can only be provided by a hub like Heathrow. Both are important, and the real issue is not differential taxation but the fact that UK passengers pay more airport tax than anyone else in Europe. That hurts the economy."

Heathrow is 98 per cent full and is back at pre-recession levels of traffic, while Gatwick is running at 80 per cent capacity.

The Chancellor froze the duty in the last Budget and ordered a review. The deadline for responses is tomorrow.