Press Release: Independent report by Paul Mansell reveals governance failures in Heathrow’s capital expenditure at the cost to consumers

Independent report by Paul Mansell reveals governance failures in Heathrow’s capital expenditure at the cost to consumers 

• A new report by infrastructure advisor Dr Paul Mansell concludes that Heathrow Airport Limited's (HAL) governance protocols fail to deliver value for money, with serious concerns over the airport's ability to manage existing capital programmes, the upcoming ‘H8’ £10bn investment (2027-31) and the proposed £49 billion expansion programme.
• 20 recommendations are outlined for fundamental reform of capital governance ahead of an unprecedented scale-up in investment funded through higher passenger charges.
• The Heathrow Reimagined campaign has called on the CAA to recognise these findings to protect passengers, UK aviation and the wider UK economy from systemic structural failures as part of a wider package of reforms.

London, 05 March 2026

An independent assessment of Heathrow Airport Limited's (HAL) capital expenditure governance model, commissioned by the Heathrow Reimagined campaign, has found systemic and structural weaknesses which threaten the delivery of HAL’s overpriced £49 billion expansion plans and the tens of billions of non-expansion related plans.

The comprehensive review was undertaken by Dr Paul Mansell, a major infrastructure expert and UK Government Advisor on projects including HS2 and Grenfell Buildings Safety Programme. Mansell concludes that, despite theoretically sound frameworks, HAL's governance protocols do not work in practice and fail to secure true value for money for passengers, who ultimately bear the costs through increased airport charges.

The report demonstrates that HAL’s governance structure and processes are ill-equipped for current capital expenditure levels and risk further poor capital governance and management to deliver HAL’s H8 business plan (2027-31). This is before the complexity and scale of  HAL’s £49bn in airport expansion is considered.

A spokesperson for Heathrow Reimagined said:

“Consumers and businesses ultimately pay the price for Heathrow Airline Limited’s (HAL) ineffective cost control and project delivery. This report demonstrates why the current regulatory and governance system is flawed and not fit for purpose, failing to deliver value for money.  HAL's claim that expansion involves “no taxpayer money” fundamentally misunderstands the issue – passengers are footing the bill through higher airport charges.

“With HAL's H8 business plan proposing to more than double capital expenditure and increase passenger charges by 47%, alongside plans to spend £49 billion on expansion, it is essential that the Civil Aviation Authority's ongoing review addresses these structural issues and implements the report's recommendations as part of a wider package of reforms to ensure investment is delivered affordably, with a regulatory model that allows true competition to improve value for money outcomes for consumers, businesses and the UK economy.”

Paul Mansell, Author of the report and advisor to the Cabinet Office, said:

"My assessment reveals that while Heathrow's governance frameworks appear sound on paper, they fail to deliver value for money in practice. HAL persistently underperforms on projects with cost overruns and delays. Without urgent reform and implementation of our recommendations, there is a real risk that tens of billions in future investment will continue to deliver poor outcomes for passengers and businesses who ultimately bear these costs."

Mansell’s report examined governance and decision-making mechanisms across HAL’s past and current projects to identify issues and risks, drawing on learnings from other major infrastructure projects, such as HS2.

Additional findings from the report include: 

• Current protocols fail to deliver value for money due to a:
  
  1)    A disconnect between regulatory periods and asset cycles leaves airlines unable to agree on priorities or make informed trade-offs across the full investment lifecycle;
  
  2)    The information HAL provides is selective and insufficient for robust decision-making
• HAL persistently underperforms on projects with overrunning costs and delays.
• HAL's "no taxpayer money" expansion messaging reflects a serious misunderstanding of value for money and the wider responsibility to protect consumers and businesses. Under Heathrow's existing economic regulation model, capital expenditure costs are passed to airlines and passengers through airport charges.
•  Improved value for money from HAL’s capital expenditure requires critical and early action on the 20 recommendations outlined in the report.

 

ENDS