British Airways (BA) could pull its aircraft out of London City if the airport’s new owners put up prices.
The airport is currently in the process of being sold and could fetch around £2 billion.
However, Willie Walsh, the chief executive of BA’s parent company, International Airlines Group, has expressed concerns about what the high price would mean.
“If the owners succeed in selling this for £2bn we cannot see how a buyer will be able to recover or make any return on that investment unless they make a significant increase in airport charges,” he told the Financial Times.
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British Airways (BA) could pull its aircraft out of London City if the airport’s new owners put up prices.
The airport is currently in the process of being sold and could fetch around £2 billion.
However, Willie Walsh, the chief executive of BA’s parent company, International Airlines Group, has expressed concerns about what the high price would mean.
“If the owners succeed in selling this for £2bn we cannot see how a buyer will be able to recover or make any return on that investment unless they make a significant increase in airport charges,” he told the Financial Times.
“We will not stay in London City at the levels we are today if these charges increase,” said Walsh. “Quite honestly the margins we make at London City would not support any increase in charges.”
London City is popular with business travellers given its proximity to Canary Wharf.
Passenger numbers have grown from around 2 million in 2005 to an estimated 4.3 million last year.
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