The Competition Commission has outlined the issues that it will investigate in its inquiry into the supply of airport services by BAA in the UK, which will investigate whether there are any features of the market that prevent, restrict or distort competition and, if so, what remedial action might be taken.
BAA owns Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports as well as four in the South of England - Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Southampton.
The Office of Fair Trading made the reference to the Commission in March 2007, and the Commission will now determine whether there are any features of the market that prevent, restrict or distort competition and, if so, what remedial action might be taken.
Christopher Clarke, Inquiry Group Chairman and deputy chairman of the Commission, said: “We have already collected extensive evidence from a wide range of parties including BAA itself, the CAA, the OFT, airlines and industry bodies, other providers of services to the airports, consumer and business groups, as well as government in both England and Scotland.
“We are well aware of the concerns expressed in the media and elsewhere over the operations of BAA’s airports, especially Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick. These include delays experienced by passengers going through security or immigration, as well as the availability of facilities such as lifts, escalators and travelators, and other aspects which may affect passengers’ experience passing through airports, such as overcrowding, signage and cleanliness.
“Our task is to seek and assess the evidence on all aspects of the seven airports relevant to a competition inquiry. We are therefore looking carefully at a wide range of issues, many of which are complex and interrelated as will be readily apparent from today’s detailed statement. Some may be short-term but given the nature of airports, others involve much longer timescales stretching over the next 10 or 15 years.
“We are looking at how common ownership could affect BAA’s incentives both to invest in and develop its airports, and operate them. We are particularly assessing how the quantity, specification, quality, location and timeliness of capital expenditure, ranging from capacity to security, might be affected by common ownership. Similarly, in terms of operations, we are examining how it might affect incentives to improve operating efficiencies as well as levels of service, including recently, and most notably, security.
“We are also considering the consequences of the airports’ regulatory regime which is very different from most other regulated industries. In addition, we are assessing the impact of restrictions on airport development and constraints on capacity in terms of runways, terminals, other facilities, and airspace for planning or other reasons.”
Commenting on the releases of the issues statement, Liz Cameron, the executive director of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: “We welcome the publication of this paper by the Competition Commission and are happy to reaffirm our commitment to assist the Commission as they investigate the airport market, and in particular how this operates in Scotland.
“Our network is satisfied that their members’ interests are well served by Scotland’s existing airports, which are operated by a variety of owners. Our airports have been successful in developing a wide variety of new direct international routes to key business and leisure destinations, and long term plans exist for the future enhancement of services and the travelling experience.
“The Scottish Chambers of Commerce message to the Competition Commission in terms of Scotland’s airports is clear and simple – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” she added.
The full issues statement by the Competition Commission can be found here .
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