Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
Airport plans to increase flight costs and scrap domestic route
TEESSIDE INTERNATIONAL NO LONGER A DESTINATION
HEATHROW Airport has announced plans to increase flight costs as it has also confirmed that a domestic flight route will be scrapped.
London’s biggest airport will no longer fly to Teesside as plans could not be determined between Loganair, Teesside International and Heathrow Airport.
News that the route will be closed this summer come as Heathrow plans to increase ticket costs.
Heathrow is planning to increase all flight tickets in proposals made for the next five years.
Luckily for passengers, this will not be a big increase and Heathrow has proposed for it to be less than a 2% rise. The reasons for this price lift differ but the impact of the pandemic i s still taking its toll on the airport.
For those annoyed that Heathrow will not serve Teesside anymore, there is hope. Heathrow have been in discussions with Teesside and the Mayor’s office over the past six months, seeking to find different solutions to help ensure the route continued throughout the summer 2022 season. These did not come to fruition but the airport said its “door is always open” for further discussions as they urge other parties to reconsider.
During the discussion the airport faced accusations from the Teesside Mayor who said that Heathrow did not want the route to continue, an accusation that it strongly denies and says is false.
Discussions over Teesside comes as multiple airlines and airports are struggling to recover from the pandemic.
Heathrow’s largest carrier, British Airways, announced last week that it is expecting a return to only 74% of pre-pandemic travel this year – just 9% more than Heathrow’s forecasts. Heathrow expects to remain lossmaking throughout this year and does not forecast paying any dividends to shareholders in 2022. Some airlines have predicted a return to profitability as a result of the ability to charge increased fares.
Heathrow CEO John HollandKaye said: “We all want to see travel get back to pre-pandemic levels as quickly as possible, and while I am encouraged by the rise in passenger numbers, we also have to be realistic.
“There are significant challenges ahead – the CAA can either plan for them with a robust and adaptable regulatory settlement that delivers for passengers and withstands any shocks, or it can prioritise airline profits by cutting back on passenger service leaving the industry to scramble when things go wrong in future.”