Britain's leading airlines have called for the break-up of BAA, the airport operator after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) allowed it to ramp up landing fees at Heathrow and Gatwick.

The CAA this morning gave BAA permission to charge carriers landing at the two London airports significantly higher fees over the next five years, a move certain to result in increased ticket prices for passengers.

British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, bmi and Ryanair called for the break-up of BAA, and said that the “outdated” regulatory system had “broken down and BAA’s financial troubles demonstrate the need for both action and leadership or consumers will end up picking up the bill”.

British Airways said the CAA’s decision “to allow BAA to ramp up airport charges significantly demonstrates conclusively that the airport regulation system has failed”.

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And in a joint statement Virgin Atlantic, bmi, Ryanair and easyJet said: “It is clear to us that the regulation of BAA’s London airports has failed and needs to be changed.”

Today’s announcement covers the period from April 2008 to the end of March 2013. The airlines said that the changes would mean that landing fees at Heathrow would increase from £10.36 to £19.31 per passenger, a rise of 86 per cent, while at Gatwick charges will increase by 49 per cent from £5.61 to £8.36 per passenger.

The four carriers said: “These increases, which will inevitably hurt consumers, 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. Stansted charges are also proposed to double in the coming five years."

The airlines also called for Ruth Kelly, the transport secretary, to step in, and for a moratorium on price increases to be imposed.

Mike Rutter, chief commercial officer of flybe, said: “We call on the Competition Commission to break up BAA, an organisation now owned by a debt-ridden company who clearly have no interest in the well-being of the UK economy.

“It is also time for the Ruth Kelly to urgently review the position of the CAA in regulating aviation and to overturn the CAA ruling.”

Dr Harry Bush, the CAA’s economic regulation director, said: “Passengers and airlines deserve better than they have been provided with at Heathrow and Gatwick in recent years.

“However, the resulting improvements in airport facilities and service standards - some £5 billion of investment over the next five years and a halving of security queuing times - have to be paid for in increased charges.”

BAA complained that the settlement did not give it enough. A spokesman said: “We believe the review does not recognise sufficiently the scale of the task we are embarked on."

Paul Ellis, BA’s airport policy and infrastructure general manager, said: “When BAA’s new owners, Ferrovial, bought them, the CAA said they would not be influenced by Ferrovial’s high debt levels. In practice, they have ignored their own policy and caved in to intense pressure from BAA by setting excessive price increases. Heathrow passengers will pay, on average, 17 per cent more than the Competition Commission recommended in September 2007.”

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