BAA under fire
BAA has fiercely criticised the Transport Select Committee report on aviation which calls for the operator’s monopoly in the south east to be broken, describing it as “naive and full of self contradictions.”
The cross party committee has accused the operator of deliberately restricting growth in the south east for its own ends. BAA controls Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports and accounts for 93% of all airport passengers in the south east of England.
The MPs called into question BAA’s motives for originally stating that an extra runway at Heathrow would be unacceptable for environmental reasons, saying its argument had been either “culpably short-sighted” or else “wilfully misleading” .
The committee added: “It is ineffective and inappropriate to have a single operator controlling such a large part of our aviation infrastructure. The Government must not assume that extra capacity in the south-east should be provided by BAA. In our view it would be more appropriate to break up its monopoly.”
But BAA has hit back, saying that if it was broken up it would be much harder to raise the huge investment sums needed to build new airport facilities in the south east. Chief executive Mike Clasper said: “As the MPs admit, the burden for this funding would fall firmly on the tax payer. With Britain’s ground transportation system already creaking through lack of investment, this thinking is perverse.”
Mr Clasper added: “The Committee last called for the break up of BAA in 1998 and was dismissed by the Government then. Judging by the quality of its arguments today it will be ignored again”.
But willingness to tackle BAA seems to be growing. Airlines have become increasingly frustrated by its high charges – the operator is increasing its landing fees at Heathrow by 40% over the next five years to help pay for Terminal 5 at Heathrow.
The Government’s aviation White Paper – due out at the end of this year – will say where UK airport expansion should take place.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt