BA owner slams spiralling costs of Heathrow's third runway

IAG, the parent company of British Airways, hit out Wednesday at the spiralling costs linked to the controversial construction of a third runway at London Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport.

In a submission to Britain's Civil Aviation Authority, IAG accused Heathrow of trying to cover up the real costs and passing on the burden to airlines and, in turn, to passengers.

"Advance costs are spiralling out of control and total expansion costs are being covered up," IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said in a statement.

IAG said the airport had originally put the cost of the expansion - both of the runway and the additional terminal and aircraft stand capacity - at 14 billion pounds.

"However, its latest masterplan says that now only builds the runway. The total cost is 32 billion pounds," the statement said.

"The airport's chief executive thinks expansion is a 'fait accompli' but with judicial, environmental and political hurdles ahead, there's no guarantee," Walsh said.

"Spending 3.3 billion pounds before receiving planning permission is irresponsible and it's completely unacceptable to expect passengers to pick up the tab."