Top Heathrow investor slams price hikes

ONE of Heathrow’s most powerful investors has warned that the airport’s plans to raise passenger charges will damage Britain’s business interests.

Akbar Al Baker, group chief executive of Qatar Airways and a Heathrow board member, said at an aviation industry lunch last week that he ‘challenged’ Heathrow’s plans to hike passenger fees from £19 to up to £30 from January, adding: ‘As an airline, any charges from Heathrow, we are not very keen to accept.’ He sits on Heathrow’s board as a representative for the state of Qatar, whose sovereign wealth fund is Heathrow’s second biggest shareholder.

‘I tell you, by God, that I put up my challenges when I see something that is not in the interest of the airport and the United Kingdom,’ he said. Al Baker said Qatar Airways – the biggest shareholder in British Airways owner IAG – has a ‘firm commitment to play an everincreasing role’ in the UK airline industry.

‘Our investment in IAG shows our continued support,’ he added.