Heathrow congestion charge 'not an option'

Fears that truck drivers around Heathrow could face a daily congestion charge to pay for airport development have been dismissed by BAA. The suggestion was that BAA wanted to introduce a £3 daily congestion charge for LGVs to help pay for further airport expansion. However this is not planned for Heathrow "or any BAA airport at the moment", says a spokeswoman.

She adds that if BAA did get permission to build a sixth terminal and a third runway, the cost of the schemes "would be a matter for the CAA [Civil Aviation Authority], which regulates BAA's charges". At least two national newspapers reported that a charge was being considered however the BAA spokeswoman says these stories were based on old discussion papers.

She adds that it was air quality control, rather than the cost of infrastructure, which had caused the possibility of a charge to be raised as part of the Heathrow consultation in November 2006. However this was dismissed by the Department for Transport as unnecessary for meeting air quality limits.