Mr. Vincent Harrison:

In broad terms, the model in which we work within the regulated environment in which we operate is that our commercial revenues - all of the revenues the Senator mentioned, such as car parking and others - are taken into account in what is referred to as a till and they are netted off against our costs. The more we generate commercially, the lower, essentially, the net cost for our aviation customers in terms of airport charges. In theory, that operates as a virtuous circle. The more efficient and commercially driven the organisation is, the more benefit that ultimately goes to the travelling public in terms of lower costs for using the airport. Obviously, that model has been disrupted through the pandemic, as have all of the bases in which it was set. That included a 23% reduction in our capability to generate aeronautical revenues in the most recent determination. We are now going through a new process to reset all of those bars and we have made a submission to the regulator to say that, for example, when the much lower traffic base we are operating on and the much higher operating costs in many cases, particularly in the context of payroll costs and energy, are taken into account, that should generate a change in the parameters that were used the last time and generate an increase in that charge. That is part of a submission to the regulator.

Specifically in respect of the set-down charges, there are a great number of mobility initiatives that will contribute to climate change targets, but also to the improved passenger experience that we are looking to introduce. One of those initiatives is to limit the access of cars through a congested area. It is not simply for the good of the environment, let us say.

We also need to ensure that we can continue to have mobility in the airports. We have therefore said that we will ring-fence that funding that is raised into environmental projects. That whole project is subject to planning, so it is not in our current operation.