Stansted Airport Chamber of Commerce

BAA responds to Competiton Commission's provisional findings

Colin Matthews, BAA’s chief executive, said:

“The Competition Commission's findings should be assessed in the light of the urgent need for new airport capacity and a modern regulatory framework, as well as the need – which we recognise – for improved service from the airport operator.

“The Commission’s findings state (1) that the lack of runway capacity is a main reason for what it calls the current poor standards of service and the lack of resilience at times of disruption, which results in regular delays.

“By calling not just for a fundamental restructure of BAA but also for a review of the Government’s Air Transport White Paper, the Commission risks delaying that delivery of new runways and making better customer service less, not more, likely.

“We will be seeking urgent clarification from the Government of how it believes this report’s findings can be reconciled with the air transport policy it established in 2003 and its current review of economic regulation.

“We note however that this is not the end of the Competition Commission process and we will continue to point out to the Commission the many areas where we believe its analysis is flawed and its remedies would be disproportionate and counter-productive.

“Just as the Government is about to make the decisions that could lead to the first full-length runways being built in the South East since the second world war, the Commission risks creating uncertainty, delay and confusion at exactly the wrong time.

“In Scotland, the Commission has apparently ignored the evidence presented by BAA, and supported by numerous respected third party organisations, that clearly demonstrates that serve separate markets and therefore do not and would not compete, regardless of ownership.”