London Heathrow Airport will be allowed to levy a surcharge of around 15 pence per passenger to pay for the early costs of its plans to build a third runway at the UK hub.
The Civil Aviation Authority, the UK regulator, has ruled that Heathrow can increase its charges from 2028 to pay for the early planning and design work on its £49 billion expansion plans incurred in 2025 and 2026, up to a cap of £320 million.
This will allow Heathrow to increase its charges by 15p in 2028, which will then rise to around 30p in the following years. The airport’s current average charge is set at £26.31 per passenger, with the CAA proposing that it be capped at between £27.20 and £30.50 per passenger between 2027 and 2031. The surcharge will be in addition to these proposed fees.
The CAA said that it would consult later this year on how the costs of Heathrow’s expansion from 2027 onwards will be paid for. The new runway is currently not expected to be operational until the mid-2030s.
Tim Johnson, director of consumers and markets at the CAA, added: “Our decision strikes a balance between supporting the delivery of benefits to consumers through timely progress on Heathrow expansion, while also protecting them from undue increases in costs.
“The costs Heathrow can recover are capped, independently scrutinised and subject to efficiency reviews, helping ensure that passengers only pay for efficient costs that are justified.”
The UK government, which has previously backed Heathrow’s expansion, is going through a public consultation on the Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement (HENPS), which will set the policy framework for the project. This consultation is scheduled to run until 1 September, with the government hoping to secure planning permission by 2029.
The airport said in a statement: “Heathrow expansion is about more than just a runway - this project is about making travel more affordable and giving passengers more choice, while providing a real economic boost to every region and nation of the country.
“We have been clear from the start that unlocking the private investment that will deliver these benefits requires a supportive regulatory framework. We are carefully considering the CAA proposals and will make investment decisions accordingly.”
Airlines have consistently protested about the high charges they already face at Heathrow and have backed a cheaper alternative plan for Heathrow’s third runway, which has been proposed by hotel entrepreneur Surinder Arora’s Arora Group.
Arora Group’s earlier plan for the airport’s expansion was rejected in favour of Heathrow’s inhouse scheme by the government in November 2025, but the CAA will allow the group to recoup £4.1 million in costs for its work on the proposal.
The airport previously secured parliamentary approval to build a third runway in 2018 under the former Conservative government. But these plans were eventually shelved after a series of legal challenges and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.