Event: British Airways’

British Airways’ owner, International Airlines Group, has announced a sharp rise in annual profits to almost £4bn despite a slight fall in passenger numbers in 2025.Pre-tax profits across IAG increased by 20% to €4.5bn (£3.9bn), with record operating profits on margins of more than 15% at BA and its sister airline Iberia.The group’s chief executive, Luis Gallego, said the lucrative transatlantic market, also served by IAG’s Aer Lingus and Level airlines, remained robust, after warnings of softening demand in the autumn.Passenger numbers fell 0.4% overall but Gallego told an investor call that premium leisure bookings on the North American routes for 2026 were doing “very well”.BA, the main contributor to IAG’s profits, operates about half of all flights out of Heathrow. Gallego issued a warning over Heathrow’s third runway plans, which have been backed by the government and are expected to cost a total of £49bn with associated expansion costs.He said IAG “supports this commitment to growth but the cost must be far lower to ensure that Heathrow remains globally competitive”.In comments to investors, Gallego added: “We need to look at the facts and the facts are that Heathrow is the most expensive airport in the world. You need to pay two or three times more than what you have to pay in other big European hubs. We think that if that plan goes ahead, the passengers are going to pay double of what they are paying today.“So we have done our internal analysis of the maximum level of investment we think, with the right phasing, we can afford in order to have flat fares for the passenger. And £30bn is our number. We can be wrong, but that’s a reduction of 40% in the investment.”Gallego said if Heathrow ensured it capped charges, and did not increase what airlines were…