CAA rules against Competition Commission

Airline Industry Information, August 14, 2002

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2002 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

The UK's aviation authority has reportedly rejected the Competition Commission's opposition to altering the system of landing charges.

The Competition Commission had stated that regulated airports such as London's Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted should continue to subsidise airline fees with income from their shops and parking. However, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) ruled against the commission, and stated that its arguments against removing the subsidies on takeoff and landing fees were not sufficient to rule out its proposal to ignore those profits when setting higher charges.

According to the CAA proposal, airlines using London's three major airports - owned by BAA - could face increases of up to 40% in user charges over the next five years, reported Reuters.

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