Commenting on the Secretary of State for Transport"™s latest statement on Heathrow airport expansion, IAG chief executive, Willie Walsh said:
"The Secretary of State"™s challenge to Heathrow to keep expansion costs low and provide value-for-money for consumers could not be more stark.
"Chris Grayling understands that Britain needs cost-effective infrastructure to survive and thrive on a global stage post-Brexit.
"Heathrow is a monopoly with a history of gold-plating facilities and very high airport charges. Benchmarking its cost proposals against similar schemes is critical and very welcome. It is imperative that Heathrow provides a full, detailed cost breakdown for expansion before Parliament votes on it this summer.
"Introducing competition to build and operate new terminals at the airport could drive costs down further.
"While we believe the Secretary of State"™s desire to keep costs flat, unless his statement is pinned down in the National Policy Statement, Heathrow will ignore him. Its reputation and history is clear for everyone to see. A three runway Heathrow will be the most expensive hub airport in the world and the UK economy and consumers will suffer at the hands of a rapacious landlord".
