Passenger to come first in airport regulation shake-up
with new measures designed to ensure improvements for passengers.
duty of promoting passengers’ interests while Passenger Focus, the organisation
that champions the interests of rail and bus users, will take on a similar role
for airline passengers.
responsibilities, and that the economic and environmental regulation of Britain’s
airports are consistent.
how our airports are run. This will help ensure that we get the most efficient
and competitive aviation sector possible.”
at airports but there were areas of concern, including baggage handling, the need
for more seating and toilets and better flight information. “These are exactly
the kind of issues that we will expect the CAA to address in discharging its new
duty.”
airlines as well as passengers.
ask them to further the interests of both airlines and passengers, without saying
who comes first. Today I am removing that lack of clarity – the passenger must
come first.”
will allow it to adapt the regulatory regime and take swifter action to remedy
service quality issues.
a primary duty to passengers reflects the growing consensus that passengers need
to be put at the heart of airport regulation. It is also important to maximise
the benefits for passengers from the upcoming sale of Gatwick – and possibly Stansted
– by supporting the increase in competition for passengers and airlines with a
flexible and clear regulatory framework.”
the government proposals. A spokesman said: “We support the key policy objectives
of the review and will fully engage in the consultation process.
of the passenger journey, provides strong incentives for appropriate and timely
investment in additional airport capacity, and addresses the wider environmental
impacts of aviation and airport development.”
the future regulation of the largest UK airports, the government said on Monday
in response to heavy criticism of the current regulatory regime.
economic regulator, "lacks the resources, expertise and above all credibility
to an effective regulator."
restructuring" he said. It would be "a high risk strategy" to put so much more
regulatory power into such an unproven structure.
There should be tough sanctions in the event of serious performance failures with
the ultimate sanction being the withdrawal of the licence itself. "Over-charging
combined with poor operational performance must be a thing of the past," it said.
far-reaching shake-up of the airports industry, which will include next week the
demand from the Competition Commission for the break-up of the BAA monopoly of
the main airports in London and Scotland.
under heavy attack from leading airlines reluctant to pay the big increase in
fees in particular at Heathrow and Gatwick approved by the CAA last year to fund
costly future capital investment programmes.
service standards especially at the main London airports and by the chaotic opening
of the showpiece Heathrow Terminal 5 a year ago.
the heart of how our airports are run – this will help ensure that we get the
most efficient and competitive aviation sector possible.
them (the CAA) to further the interests of both airlines and passengers, without
saying who comes first. Today I am removing that lack of clarity – the passenger
must come first."
The proposals will be subject to a 12-week public consultation.
since the then British Airports Authority (since renamed BAA) was privatised in
1987.
force for other utility sectors such as power and water. It will give the CAA
powers to react with far greater flexibility and speed, whenever problems with
service quality are identified.
require a licence with three licence tiers and varying levels of control depending
on the market power of the airport.
– are subject to the setting of price caps by the CAA.
of airport operators to finance the investment in airport and runway capacity
needed to improve the passenger experience.
the environmental consequences of its decisions
by parliament in 2010/11 at the earliest, should remove the Competition Commission
from the process of setting price controls and transform its role into an appeals
body, as is the case in other utility sectors.
will soon take on the role of representing bus and coach users.
to Passenger Focus, said Mr Hoon, to enable "a traveller’s end-to-end journey"
to be considered within a single organisation.