Stansted Airport Charges Report From CC Published By CAA

Wednesday 5th November 2008

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published a report from the Competition Commission (CC) regarding Stansted Airport charges. This report will govern BAA's ability to charge airlines for a period of five years that begins in April 2009. If you wish to read the report from the CAA it can be found here. The Competition Commission also have a copy of the report that can be found here.

The recommendations made by the CC are for an increase in maximum airport charges that can be made by Stansted that are up to £6.25 per passenger. This is in comparison with the current charges which are £6.05 for each passenger. Increases will not be permitted to be more than RPI+1.75% for each year of the five year time-span. BAA had previously proposed prices of £6.38 per passenger and an annual increase of RPI+7.1%.

Also contained in the report was a conclusion by the CC that Stansted Airport had been acting against public interest by failing to consult with airlines regarding the development of the airport and its capital expenditure plans. This had occured due to failings in the management of the security queuing process as well as failing to supply adequate landing charges for large cargo aircraft.

he CC has recommended that CAA requests from BAA improvements to the consultation process . This would involve a quality rebate scheme such as can be found at Gatwick and Heathrow Airports. This scheme places fines on BAA if at any point it fails to achieve required standards by offering off peak discounts regarding the largest cargo aircraft landing charges.

The recommendations by the CC will now be considered by the CAA after which more recommendations are expected before it announces its final conclusions in March 2009. Speaking after the recommendations were submitted to the CAA was CC Deputy Chairman Christopher Clarke who said;

"We believe our recommendations will provide the necessary incentives for BAA to meet existing and future customers’ needs by operating efficiently and by continuing to develop the airport."