Terminal decline

JUST watching Sky News and I'm wondering how Colin Matthews, boss of Heathrow Airport,  can keep a straight face as he tries to justify higher charges. His argument is that Terminal 5 was like taking out a higher mortgage to pay for an extension to your house. It was now time to meet the higher payments. They also need to make further investments totalling £5bn. No argument with that last point  as Terminal 1 is a dump.

But why do we have to pay?

It is reckoned that passenger numbers have been overestimated. But Heathrow Airport is the third busiest airport in the world. Charges have tripled over the past 11 years. The cost-effectiveness of any expansion is calculated on the basis of increases in business to recoup the outlay. Over the next five years, they want to raise charges from the equivalent of £19.33 per passenger now to £21.96 next year and up again to £27.30 in 2018-19.

So, if I understand the argument, Heathrow Airport want to expand to make more money and want passengers to foot the bill. Do we get shares for our investment or maybe lower charges later? Don't hold your breath.

The latest proposed rises smack of a business that knows its customers have few alternative options. So bosses go cap in hand to those customers like a nationalised industry expecting someone else to bailout business decisions if they get their sums wrong .

I wonder why, despite the opening of Terminal 5 (remember that fiasco?), passenger numbers have not risen as much as expected?

Could it be that the place is still an overcrowded dump that most air passengers do their best to avoid?

The last time I used the London Underground station there it was like entering a grim undersized dungeon - not the gateway to one of the world's most exciting cities.

London Mayor Boris Johnson describes the airport as a cul-de-sac. He prefers a new airport to the east of the capital.

He has a point. I love flying into the new Southend Airport with +Aer Lingus. You are through the airport in minutes and can enjoy a hassle free train journey into the heart of London. And, if you are flying to the States, it is a hell of a lot easier to fly from Southend and then onwards from Dublin.

+British Airways and +Virgin are furious  at the plans - calling for a reduction in charges.

The Heathrow plans have to be approved by the Civil Aviation Authority.

Let's hope they put the interests of the passengers first.