Virgin Atlantic withholds BAA fees over holiday snow

Virgin Atlantic Airways will withhold a portion of landing and parking fees from BAA because of the airport operator’s handling of the snow event at London Heathrow in the days before Christmas (ATW Daily News, Jan. 5). The charges due will be placed in an escrow account until the results of an external inquiry are published. The amount withheld represents “less than half of our estimated costs and losses,” according to the airline. 

In a letter to BAA, VS argued that the “handling of the snow event [at LHR] fell well short of what is expected of an international airport operator.”  It said BAA failed to have “proper contingency arrangements in place, including insufficient capacity of equipment, staff and quantity of available materials,” failed to “communicate adequate information to the airlines” and failed to “have adequate assets to open up the second runway without delay.” A copy of the letter was sent to UK Transport Secretary Philip Hammond, UK Transport Minister Theresa Villiers and Civil Aviation Authority Chairman Deidre Hutton.

BAA CEO Colin Matthews on Tuesday responded in a public comment in The Times newspaper, saying that VS withholding airport charges is “disappointing” and “without legal basis.”

Meanwhile, Lufthansa and its UK subsidiary bmi believe BAA should compensate airlines hit by the disruption at LHR last month. “The airport should make an offer on how to compensate for the delayed reopening,” an LH spokesperson told the Financial Times. Bmi said in a separate statement it had “assessed the costs incurred as a result of the snow disruption at London Heathrow and we will now enter into discussions about compensation.”

British Airways said late last week the partial closure of UK airports caused by snow over the festive season cost it £50 million ($77.7 million). Air France KLM Group estimates the cost of the winter disruptions last month at €70 million ($90.4 million).