Mr Walsh, Mr Weiss and Gallego urged the CAA to reconsider and “end the Heathrow gravy train”, which delivered more than £4bn in dividends to shareholders between 2012 and 2020.

They said: “If the management team cannot find sufficient cost-savings, it’s time to tap its handsomely rewarded shareholders. The story of Heathrow under its current owners is a case study in the extreme use of debt.”

Mr Gallego has warned that the increased landing charges will have to be passed onto passengers.

IAG claims that Heathrow is already 44pc more expensive than its major continental competitors. Mr Gallego has warned that BA will move flights to France, the Netherlands and Germany if Heathrow and the CAA do not back down.

Increased landing charges could have grave consequences for Sir Richard’s hopes of floating Virgin Atlantic to help restore its finances after the pandemic. Michael O’Leary, the outspoken founder of Ryanair, said last month that the listing is “probably f*****” proposals.

The coalition marks a temporary suspension of hostilities between Mr Walsh and Sir Richard, who retains a 51pc stake in the airline he founded in 1984. When Singapore Airlines sold its minority stake in Virgin Atlantic to Delta in 2012, the Irishman declared the end of the transatlantic challenger.

Sir Richard responded by wagering £1m that his airline would still be operating in five years’ time. Mr Walsh changed the bet to a “knee in the groin” because £1m was not significant enough for a “billionaire banker”. Both sides claimed victory in 2017.

A spokesman for Heathrow said: “Heathrow delivers tremendous value for airlines – our world-class facilities enable them to charge premium margins and mean that six of the top 10 most profitable air routes in the world are from Heathrow.

“On top of that, we give them slots for free which they can then sell for up to $75m (£56m) each or use as collateral against loans, value they can’t achieve at any other airport in the world.

“By contrast, our investors have had negative real returns over the last 15 years. The airlines are right to say that the UK’s Global Britain ambitions depend on Heathrow, but wrong to think it can be achieved without a fair return for the investors who will deliver it.”

Heathrow’s greed puts Global Britain in jeopardy

By Willie Walsh, director-general of IATA; Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic chief executive; and Luis Gallego, International Airlines Group (IAG) chief executive

Anticipation was high on both sides of the Atlantic this week as the US reopened to vaccinated travellers, over 600 days since the border was closed. Scenes of tearful reunions reminded us that flying really is freedom. 

There are no substitutes for a long-awaited hug with a loved one or looking your business partner in the eye. But just as the sector moves into recovery phase, this much-needed boost to British consumers and the industry could be compromised by Heathrow’s greed.

Even before the recovery takes root, Heathrow is back at its old tricks – using its dominant market position to enrich shareholders at the expense of travellers, airlines and the UK’s economy. To make up for revenue lost in the pandemic, the airport asked to increase charges by 90pc from 2022 compared with 2019.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which as the regulator has a statutory duty to protect consumers from pricing abuse, has already knocked that back to a maximum 50pc increase. But a closer look reveals why the CAA needs to be much tougher.