easyJet slam plans to give CAA more power over airports
23.07.10
easyJet has slammed Government plans to give the Civil Aviation Authority greater power to regulate UK airports, which transport secretary Philip Hammond said should become 'better, not bigger', travelmole reports. The CAA will be handed a new primary duty to promote the interests of passengers and to drive passenger-focused investment in airports, such as new baggage handling equipment and more modern facilities.
The CAA will be granted new powers to take action against airports that under perform and to investigate and take action against anti-competitive behaviour. The plans also include a switch to a new regulatory licensing regime. Mr Hammond said this will allow regulation to be tailored to individual airports, rather than the same conditions being applied to all regulated airports.
Mr Hammond said: ‘The way UK airports are regulated is in urgent need of reform. The current regulation legislation dates from 1986, when the aviation sector looked very different from today. We must put passengers at the heart of how our airports are run. We have already announced that we do not support the building of new runways at Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted. We want to make those airports better, not bigger and that is what these measures will do.’
However, an easyJet spokesman said: ‘These proposals place too much reliance on the CAA getting it right, without any real checks and balances. Delivering better airports means ensuring they are built around the needs of passengers. These new proposals do not create a framework for this to be achieved.’
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