The budget airlines easyJet and Ryanair have threatened to withhold payments to BAA, the airport operator, in a dispute over an increase in landing and passenger fees at Gatwick and Stansted.

The low-cost carriers said that they were unwilling to pay the new fees in full while they await the outcome of a judicial review into the Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) decision to allow BAA to raise prices at Gatwick. Ryanair says that it will seek a judicial review if BAA increases prices further at Stansted.

The dispute is the latest debacle for BAA, owned by Ferrovial, the Spanish group, after the fiasco surrounding Heathrow Terminal 5.

Both airlines have written to the operator to complain about higher fees, up 21 per cent at Gatwick and 7 per cent at Stansted, which came into force on April 1. They have suggested setting up an escrow account for these fees until a decision is made.

“We are determined to address what we consider to be a regulatory decision that we consider to be unlawful and damaging for the airlines, our passengers and the industry as a whole,” Andy Harrison, the easyJet chief executive, wrote in a letter to the airport operator.

A BAA spokesman said that it would continue to charge the new fees, approved by the CAA, and that if money was withheld it would consider taking action. He added that the company did not accept that the airlines had a valid complaint.

Virgin Atlantic, bmi, Ryanair and easyJet estimate that the proposed changes to landing fees could mean increases from £10.36 to £19.31 per passenger at Heathrow - a rise of 86 per cent for the next five years. At Gatwick, the charges will rise by 49 per cent from £5.61 to £8.36 per passenger.

The four carriers said in a joint statement published last month: “These increases ... follow a substantial increase in charges at Heathrow and Gatwick in the past five years and a doubling of charges at Stansted in the last year.”

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