How much does it cost to land at an airport?

The landing fee itself is charged per tonne of the aircraft's maximum takeoff weight (MTOW), on a sliding scale: an ultralight pays a few euros and a 350-tonne Boeing 777, several thousand. At congested airports like Heathrow or Frankfurt, surcharges also apply for peak time slots and noise category, so an older, noisier aircraft pays more than an A320neo. At general aviation airfields it's usually a flat rate, between 10 and 30 euros for a two-tonne light aircraft, sometimes waived if fuel is purchased.

For airlines, the landing fee is only part of the bill. The bulk of the charges are per boarded passenger: terminal usage fee, security, assistance for passengers with reduced mobility, and in many countries, a state tax. At Heathrow the per-passenger charge is around £25 (as of 2025), the highest in Europe; across Aena's network it sits around 10-15 euros depending on the airport and destination. An A320 with 180 passengers landing at London Heathrow thus generates more than £5,000 in charges before counting parking, the boarding bridge, ground power supply and the air navigation charges Eurocontrol levies for the route.

All these charges are public: every airport publishes an annual tariff guide, and in Europe the Airport Charges Directive requires them to be discussed with airlines and justified by costs. In Spain they are set by Aena under supervision from the CNMC; in the UK, the CAA regulates Heathrow's charges. Low-cost airlines negotiate volume discounts or incentives for opening new routes at secondary airports, which sometimes charge almost nothing to land in order to capture traffic, then make money on parking and retail instead.