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Airport operators could see a rise in the cost of security after a meeting with police forces this week.

Terrorist threats such as the September 11th attacks and last summer's alleged threat to transatlantic flights, which saw restrictions on items carried in cabin baggage, have been met with a drastic increase in police presence at UK airports.

And now nine police forces and authorities from around the UK are now banding together to try to recover the additional cost of policing the airports.

Metropolitan police chairman Len Duvall said: "It is unfair to expect taxpayers to have to bear the costs for policing what are commercial enterprises, often earning huge profits.

"Police forces spend a substantial amount of their resources on keeping our major airports safe – a position made more vital due to the increased threat from terrorism.

"We need to work out an equitable agreement that enables us to maintain cover at our airports, keep all airport users safe and ensure we do not have an excessive drain on our budgets to the detriment of our wider police services."

Under the 1982 Civil Aviation Act the airports of Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, Manchester, Prestwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen are all required to pay for policing costs.

In figures released by the Met, airport operator BAA pays £38 million a year for the policing of Heathrow alone. The actual cost to the police service is about £48 million a year, the force claims.

The airport authority has said it will be meeting with the Metropolitan police to discuss the funding issue.