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Virgin withholds BAA fees after snow disruption
Business Digest: Airline says BAA should be partly responsible for costs incurred during snow chaos
Virgin Atlantic is withholding fees it owes to BAA because of the disruption caused by the shutdown of Heathrow airport last month.
The airline normally pays landing and parking charges to BAA, which operates Heathrow, but says it will withhold its money until it sees the results of a full internal inquiry into the disruption.
Steve Ridgway, Virgin's chief executive, said to the Financial Times: "We've told BAA we are going to hold back some of the monies we owe them. Because while we accept, and indeed we did, step up to our responsibilities to look after our customers, we feel they should also feel some of that accountability."
BAA, which is owned by Ferrovial, the Spanish infrastructure group, responded: "Heathrow's conditions of use do not provide any basis for Virgin Atlantic or any other airline to withhold airport charges."
Read a full report at the Financial Times (subscription required). ·
