June 12 2026

As a former governor of the Bank of England, Prime Minister Mark Carney would have seen what happens at privatized British airports. Based on the fact his government is looking at privatizing Canada’s airports, he seems to feel that model will work for Canada.

But a quick look at what happens at privatized airports in Britain shows privatization will push up costs. And the ways we’ll be forced to pay will be designed to hide the full cost from us.

We will see the increased costs in higher airport charges that push up the cost of airline tickets. Or people will find themselves being charged for things that we don’t currently pay for at Canadian airports.   

Charges for dropping people off or luggage carts

At most Canadian airports, dropping someone off to catch a flight is free, if the driver isn’t leaving the car. At privatized airports in Britain, it’s a very different story. Depending on the airport, you can be paying as much as $24 to drop someone off at privatized airports.

And charging people for drop offs is only one way that the owners of privatized airports make a profit. Many privatized airports in Britain are now charging for baggage carts. While there is no charge for baggage carts in most Canadian airports, the owners of privatized airports charge up to $3.70 to use one.

For-profit ownership means higher costs

Currently airport authorities in Canada are not-for-profit. This means that the fees they charge are only intended to cover costs. With for-profit ownership, that changes.

Vinci SA is one of the companies that owns British airports. In it’s 2025 annual report, it states that two airports where it is the majority owner — London Gatwick and Edinburgh — were able to “pay  €1.2 billion of dividends to their shareholders, including almost €0.6 billion to the VINCI Group.”

€1.2 billion works out to just almost $2 billion Canadian. And when the owners of just 2 privatized airports are taking $2 billion in profits, it’s airline passengers who are footing the bill.