BAA, the UK airports group, has been forced to pay penalties of £7.34m ($11.76m) for failing to meet all its required service standards at Heathrow and Gatwick during the past six months.

The rebates paid to its airline customers have been paid under the terms of the tougher service quality regime introduced by the Civil Aviation Authority in April, when the economic regulator approved a big jump in airport charges to finance future capital investments.