Heathrow H8 Price Cap: £27.20-£30.50 Initial Proposals for 2027-2031
Summary
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has published Initial Proposals for the H8 regulatory period (January 2027 to end of 2031), setting the proposed cap on Heathrow Airport charges at between £27.20 and £30.50 per passenger. The mid-point of £28.80 represents a 16% reduction from HAL's forecast and a 25% increase above airline proposals. The CAA is consulting stakeholders and will publish final proposals in November 2026, followed by a Final Decision in April 2027.
“Our primary duty is to protect consumers and at the heart of today's proposals is doing the right thing for passengers using Heathrow airport, while supporting sustainable growth, investment, and efficiency.”
What changed
The CAA has published its Initial Proposals for the H8 price control period, proposing a cap range of £27.20 to £30.50 per passenger with a mid-point of £28.80. This represents a modest increase from the H7 average of £28.40 but sits significantly below HAL's cost forecast and above airline proposals. The document also introduces new incentives for service quality and environmental performance improvements.
Airlines operating at Heathrow should assess the proposed charge levels against their own forecasts and operational costs. Heathrow Airport faces a multi-year framework that will govern its investment recovery while incentivising cost efficiency. Consumer groups and industry stakeholders have until the consultation closes to submit responses; the final regulatory framework will be binding once the April 2027 Final Decision is published.
What to do next
- Review the Initial Proposals
- Submit feedback to the CAA on the price cap range
- Monitor for the November 2026 final proposals
Archived snapshot
Apr 20, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has today published its Initial Proposals for the maximum fees that Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) can charge airlines for using the airport for the H8 regulatory period, which runs from January 2027 until the end of 2031.
The regulator is now consulting on a range for its H8 Initial Proposals, which will set the cap on airport charges at between £27.20 and £30.50 per passenger. The mid-point of our range implies an average charge over H8 of £28.80 compared to average charges over H7 of £28.40. Our mid-point is some 16 percent or £5.40 lower than HAL’s forecast and some 25 percent or £5.80 higher than the airlines’ proposed charges.
The proposals for the next Heathrow price control are separate from the work the regulator is conducting to support capacity expansion at Heathrow.
The proposals also set incentives for Heathrow to improve both its service quality standards and environmental performance.
Heathrow is planning to invest billions in the coming years to improve airport resilience as well as improvements in consumer services, including baggage handling and security.
The multi-year price caps allow Heathrow to recover efficient costs while setting out incentives for cost-effective investment.
Selina Chadha, Group Director of Consumer and Markets at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said:
“Our primary duty is to protect consumers and at the heart of today’s proposals is doing the right thing for passengers using Heathrow airport, while supporting sustainable growth, investment, and efficiency.
“Our proposals for the airport charges levied by Heathrow on airlines strike the right balance between keeping passenger prices fair, while enabling the airport to make the investment needed to improve services for the future. We encourage all stakeholders to provide us with their views on our initial proposals.”
The UK Civil Aviation Authority will publish its final proposals for the H8 price control in November 2026 followed by a Final Decision in April 2027.
Note: all figures are in 2024 CPIH prices.
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