Gatwick Airport owner BAA
will today get the first official
indication of whether it will be
forced to break up its British airport
empire.
The Competition Commission
will publish a progress report in its
inquiry into BAA and British airports
ahead of a provisional report in late
summer and a final report by the end
of the year.
But the commission could give a
sign today that it is thinking of ordering
a break-up of BAA airports, which
also include Heathrow, Stansted,
Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh
and Aberdeen.
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There has already been much speculation
that BAA - owned by Spanish
company Ferrovial - is looking to sell
Gatwick and there have been reports
that talks have been held with potential
buyers for Stansted. There have
been calls for its "monopoly" to end,
with opponents of BAA pointing to
continuing travel chaos at Heathrow
which culminated in the shambolic T5
opening.
The commission has stressed
today's document is only a progress
report and will not go into any detail
on what actions the commission may
or may not take following the inquiry.
A commission spokesman said:
"There are difficulties in UK airports,
particularly in the South East.
"We will be looking at how much of
this can be put down to a common
ownership and how could this be
improved."
But the aviation world will at least
have some idea of what commission
bosses are thinking before the provisional
and final reports are published.
When last August the inquiry
chairman Christopher Clarke listed
the issues the commission would be
looking at, he said: "We are well
aware of the concerns expressed in
the media and elsewhere over the
operations of BAA's airports.
"These include delays experienced
by passengers going through security
or immigration, and other aspects
such as overcrowding, signage and
cleanliness.
"We are looking at how common
ownership could affect BAA's incentives
both to invest in and develop its
airports, and operate them."
In referring BAA to the commission,
the Office of Fair Trading said
that there was evidence of "poor customer
satisfaction" and that in the
South East BAA's airports handled
90% of passenger trips "and these airports
could under separate ownership
compete to attract air passengers".
The OFT's chief executive said at
the time of referral in December 2006:
"We believe that the current market
structure does not deliver best value
for air travellers in the UK, and that
greater competition within the industry
could bring significant benefits for
passengers.
"There is evidence of poor quality
and high charges - BAA's investment
plans, which are of great importance
to Britain, have raised significant concerns
among its customers.
"These are signs of a market not
working well for consumers and we
believe that a full inquiry into BAA's
structure is justified."
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