Overview
- Luton Airport, owned by Luton Council, says higher business rates are likely to affect investment decisions on its government‑approved expansion to a new terminal and capacity growth to 32m passengers by 2043.
- Fresh analysis verified by City AM projects Luton’s annual business rates to rise from just under £7m to about £14.5m by 2029, with major UK airports generally seeing bills more than double.
- Heathrow’s bill is projected to increase from just under £117m this year to about £244m by 2029, highlighting the sector‑wide scale of the revaluation taking effect in April.
- Gatwick is assessing potential increases to £140m by 2029 after warning that rises above 40% would hit investment plans, and Manchester has said it would look again at a £2bn investment programme.
- AirportsUK warns that increases of over 100% could force reviews of multi‑billion‑pound projects and threaten jobs, while the Treasury cites a £4.3bn package to limit hikes to 30% before other reliefs.