Fining poorly performing airports criticised

[March 16th 2008]

Low fares airline Ryanair has criticised the proposal by the Civil Aviation Authority to fine airports for poor performance.

Ryanair claims the CAA’s proposal “is irrelevant after its history of abject failure to properly regulate the BAA monopoly”. Once again the budget airline has called for the immediate sale of Stansted airport in order to improve airport performance and competition.

“The CAA has rightly followed the recommendations of the Competition Commission in relation to pricing after a review of BAA’s abusive practices at Stansted airport,” says Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara.

“BAA consistently ignores the requirements of users in order to build grossly expensive facilities and provides very poor service levels to passengers as demonstrated by horrendous security queues,” McNamara continues.

“The proposal by the CAA to fine poor performing airports is too little too late after it has presided over years of abysmal service at Stansted and its history of rubber stamping cost increases for airports. How can any airport passenger or airline believe that the CAA will impose any real sanction on airports for poor performance after it has ignored and tolerated such abysmal performance for so many years?,” concludes McNamara.

The CAA has confirmed that up to £10 million per year of Stansted Airport’s revenue will be at risk under an incentive scheme to encourage better services for passengers and airlines.

Under the incentive regime, poor standards of service for passengers for security queues, baggage systems, terminal facilities or for services delivered directly to airlines could put at risk up to £10 million, equivalent to 7% of Stansted’s airport charges from passenger flights.

“Stansted’s price control is about ensuring that this airport, and those with the potential to compete with it, develop in a way that meets the needs of users. This is why we have brought in an incentive scheme to improve services for passengers and airlines,” explains CAA group director of economic regulation, Harry Bush.

“Going forward we will now be working on developing our approach to economic regulation to meet the challenges of a developing airport market and to ensure that the benefits of increased competition from the forthcoming sale of Gatwick, and from the potential sale of Stansted, are delivered to passengers and airlines,” Bush adds.

Written by: Nick Purdom

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