Gatwick disappointed by CAA’s initial ruling to continue to regulate Stansted

• Competition protects passenger interests better than regulation
• Stansted and Gatwick should both be de-regulated to promote healthy competition between London airports

2012-12-21 — /travelprnews.com/ — On Thursday 20 December 2012, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced that it was minded to continue regulating Stansted Airport once it moves into new ownership. Gatwick Airport responded by saying:

“Airports that are free to compete promote and protect the interests of passengers and it is our view that competition, not regulation, is the best mechanism to achieve that. That is why we are disappointed by today’s preliminary ruling by the CAA to continue to regulate Stansted Airport.

“It is completely counter-intuitive for the Competition Commission to rule that BAA should divest itself of a number of airports in order to promote competition and protect passenger interests only for the CAA to stifle competition by keeping Stansted regulated.

“The CAA should also take the view that a deregulated Gatwick would better serve the needs of passengers and the UK economy.

“If ever there was a time to incentivise airports to compete it is now. There is little disagreement that there is a need for the UK to retain its status as an international hub and to have better connections to emerging markets today and in the future. Freeing Stansted and Gatwick from economic regulation would help create a network of truly competing airports around London, which will attract more long haul airlines and drive the connections the UK needs to the rest of the world.

“At Gatwick we have made good progress in attracting new long haul routes to China, Vietnam, South Korea and Russia. Remove the red tape from Gatwick, and we will deliver more connections more quickly.”

For more information contact:

Gatwick Airport press office