Emirates, one of the largest airlines at Heathrow in terms of passengers carried, reacted furiously in July when the airport imposed a restriction of 100,000 people per flight to keep numbers under control. Sir Tim Clark, the company’s CEO, has now asked that John Holland-Kaye, the CEO of Heathrow, resign.

Emirates wants Airbus to design a new super jumbo that is larger than the A380. (Opens in a new browser tab)

“That’s inexcusable,” Sir Tim told the Sunday Times in response to the Heathrow CEO’s suggestion that airlines would once again be subject to a cap between Christmas and New Year. Anyone who makes such statements is unsuitable for the position.

A representative for Heathrow expressed disappointment, saying: “It is sad that Iata has descended to making unjustified personal insults in an effort to persuade the CAA board to set a low airport tax that would maximize airline profits at the price of investing in customer service. Our priority has always been acting in the best interests of customers. We took action to safeguard Heathrow’s customer service this summer when the industry encountered scaling-up difficulties.

Emirates ends 2017 on a high note reaching fleet and product milestones(Opens in a new browser tab)

The regulator places restrictions on what Heathrow can charge and is presently thinking about future fees. The average maximum price, which was £30.19 in June 2022, was predicted to drop to £26.31 in 2026 by the CAA. The Airport Operators Association’s chair, Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, gave Heathrow complete support.

In a swipe at airlines that have cut staff numbers, Baroness McGregor-Smith added: “In the face of huge uncertainty Heathrow acted to protect colleagues and retain jobs for everyone on the frontline who wanted one – not all businesses can say this.”