LONDON’S BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
SIX-STAR PERFORMANCE ENGLAND MAKE FAST START TO WORLD CUP BUT THREE LIONS WILL HAVE TOUGHER TESTS P22
NEW WAR OF WORDS OVER HEATHROW
TUESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2022
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CITYAM.COM
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AIRLINES BOSS: ‘HEADS MUST ROLL’ IF AIRPORT DELAYS RETURN ILARIA GRASSO MACOLA HEATHROW’s boss John Holland Kaye was yesterday warned the pressure is on if this summer’s travel delays and disruption take place again. Aviation veteran Willie Walsh said “heads should roll” if there is more chaos at the west London hub. “People ask me ‘are we going to face the same problems next year?’ If we do, heads should roll,” Walsh – a former British Airways and IAG chief exec and now head of airlines trade body IATA – told a London conference. “Let’s be clear: there is no excuse.” Heathrow made the headlines throughout the summer as travel delays and cancellations disrupted holidays and business travel, with demand increasing faster
than staffing levels could manage. Heathrow went as far as to introduce a passenger cap. The airport had been considering reintroducing the cap, which it binned after the summer, but any plans to do so have since been shelved. According to Walsh, both the UK government and the aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), should have been “more vocal” in criticising the airport’s performance. The director general’s words were echoed by Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, who said a repeat of this summer is “completely avoidable” if “honest and accurate forecasts are used now for resource planning and building resilience”. Carriers have repeatedly accused Heathrow of downplaying its post-pandemic recovery in a bid to increase the passenger fee it can charge its air-
line customers. An interim £30.19 fee was set in December last year by the UK’s aviation regulator to help the airport recover from the impact of Covid-19. Airlines have warned the passenger fee would inevitably be passed onto passengers in the form of higher ticket prices. Since the initial CAA decision, the airport has regained its status as Europe’s busiest hub but is still seeing passenger numbers below pre-pandemic figures. “If we want a globally competitive aviation sector, [Heathrow’s fee] should simply not be allowed to happen,” Weiss said. A Heathrow spokesperson said the airport was focused on boosting cooperation amongst stakeholders. “Our efforts are firmly directed towards the constructive engagement and collaboration with the regulator and with the airlines to deliver great service for passengers this Christmas and into next year,” they said.
TAX HIKE SPOOKS SHELL Energy giant reviewing £25bn UK investment NICHOLAS EARL OIL MAJOR Shell has warned it could ditch its pledge to invest £25bn in the UK’s energy sector, after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt toughened the windfall tax last week. David Bunch, chairman of Shell’s UK operations, confirmed the energy giant will “evaluate” its spending pledges – which includes 75 per cent in low carbon and renewable projects – and push for changes to the expanded Energy Profits Levy. “We’re going to have to evaluate each project on a case-by-case basis. When you tax more you’re going to
have less disposable income in your pocket, less to invest,” he told the CBI conference in Birmingham yesterday. His comments are the latest blow to the UK’s ambitions to ramp up investment in the North Sea to boost the country’s energy security and stave off blackouts this winter. Harbour Energy told City A.M. last week it was also “reviewing” the impact of the tax on its UK operations and would pursue talks with ministers. A Shell spokesperson said they recognised the burden “increased prices have across society” but argued taxes needed to boost investment as well as support people.
Get smart: London retains European top spot in tech-enabled cities report EXCLUSIVE
JACK BARNETT LONDON is the most technologically advanced city in Europe, beating Paris, Frankfurt and Madrid, according to exclusive research shared with City A.M. The capital’s capacity for world class innovation drove it to the top
of the continental rankings in Z/Yen’s sixth smart cities index. New York topped the list. The Square Mile’s banks, brokers and insurers’ ability to create new financial products also helped it retain second place in the world, while Z/Yen praised London’s infrastructure for enabling smooth trade.
London’s welcoming legal and tax regime has made it seamless for firms to interact with each other, the index noted. UK cities dominated the top 10. Oxford and Cambridge also placed ninth and tenth, ahead of any other European city. The closest place in Europe rivalling London is Zurich, followed
by Lugano and Malta. London has topped most of Z/Yen’s other indexes on a European basis. The organisation recently ranked the capital as the top finance hub and the greenest place for banks, brokers and insurers. European capitals have been vying for London’s crown as the top finance centre since Brexit.
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