Airlines will have to pay substantially more in landing fees at Gatwick over the next five years.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said airport operator BAA could increase charges at Gatwick in 2008/09 by 21 per cent compared with the charges over the last five years.

The increase at Heathrow will be 23.5 per cent, with fares likely to rise for air passengers as a result of the new price regime.

At Gatwick the charges will be allowed to rise by no more than inflation plus 2.0 per cent a year while at Heathrow the charges will be allowed to rise by no more than 7.5 per cent a year above the retail price index inflation for the period from April 2009 to the end of March 2013.

The CAA also ruled that BAA's rate of return on its investments should be no more than 6.2 per cent at Heathrow and no more than 6.5 per cent at Gatwick.

This compared with a figure of 7.75 per cent for both airports that BAA had requested.

The landing charge fees are higher than those proposed by the CAA last November. The CAA cited the additional investment at Heathrow and the additional airport security now needed as reasons for the higher charges.

The CAA said its new price controls provided for "shorter security queuing times, enhanced levels of service across the airports (such as more reliable equipment and cleaner terminals), and greater and more immediate information to passengers from BAA (including displayed in the terminals themselves) of how it is performing against the standards it has been set".

The CAA added that there would be stronger incentives on each airport in the coming five-year period to deliver higher and consistent service quality and improved infrastructure.

For example, a broader range of services will be subject to financial incentives, with enhanced targets most notably for passenger security processing, which should deliver a quicker and more reliable experience for passengers - queues less than five minutes for 95 per cent of the whole day.

The UK's biggest airline has reacted with fury to a new price regime.

British Airways said the CAA's decision "to allow BAA to ramp up airport charges significantly demonstrates conclusively that the airport regulation system has failed".