Ryanair has made its submission to the Independent Review of the Civil Aviation Authority and renewed its call for a break-up of the BAA monopoly

The airline says it is riding rough shod over the reasonable interests of users and passengers because of the CAA’s complete failure to regulate this out of control monopoly.

At Stansted, the CAA’s failure to regulate the BAA’s monopoly abuse has resulted in a doubling of passenger charges since April, a decline in passenger traffic and appalling security queues, while the BAA has increased its operating profits by 66%.

The CAA has also refused to intervene in the face of unanimous opposition from airport users at Stansted over BAA plans to impose a £4bn gold plated Taj Mahal development for a second runway and terminal when such facilities should be provided sensibly and efficiently for one quarter of the cost. Despite this blatant evidence of the BAA’s gross monopoly abuse, the CAA has taken the unprecedented step of completely abdicating its duty to protect users and passengers by recommending that Stansted be de-designated, i.e., not regulated at all.

Speaking today, Ryanair’s Head of Regulatory Affairs, Jim Callaghan, said:

‘CAA regulation of the BAA monopoly has utterly failed and is doing untold damage to the air transport industry, passenger needs and the British economy. We call on this Independent Review to recognise, as the OFT has already done in its referral of the BAA monopoly to the Competition Commission, that CAA regulation is a sham which has failed to control the price gouging BAA monopoly.

‘Until the BAA is broken up, allowing competition between airports to succeed where this regulated monopoly has failed users and passengers, a more effective regulatory regime must urgently be put in place to stop further unjustified price hikes, passenger misery and wanton overspending and waste at the BAA monopoly’.
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