Heathrow plans switch to weight-based cargo charge

Heathrow Airport is proposing to change the way it charges for cargo, including the introduction of a new weight-based system.

Under a new proposal, both passenger aircraft carrying cargo and freighter aircraft will pay a new weight-based charge of £40 per metric tonne, although the airport hopes to offset this for passenger airlines through the reduction of other fees.

For freighters, the airport has also proposed a minimum weight that is expected to be carried – if the weight of cargo comes in below this minimum, a flat Minimum Cargo Charge (MCC) will be applied instead of the weight-based system.

The MCC for domestic flights is 10 tonnes, which equates to £400. For European and the Rest of the World flights, the minimum is 30 tonnes or £1,200.

The airport said that having an MCC should help ensure that freighter capacity is efficiently utilised.

The weight-based\MCC system will replace the existing flat fee Minimum Departure Charge that freighters currently pay.

Passenger aircraft carrying cargo will not face the MCC but will continue to pay the usual charges faced by a passenger flight as well as the weight-based system.

The airport said that the cargo revenues generated on passenger aircraft through the weight-based charging system would be offset by reductions in passenger, movement, and parking charges, reports aircargonews.net.