Co-op Travel MD voices dismay at UK airports
Co-operative Travel MD has joined the fight for more competition and better procedures at UK airports.
Mike Greenacre, also an ABTA Board Director, believes that unless the government intervenes many UK airports will grind to a halt.
The independent travel retailer has backed the Competition Commission’s report on BAA’s airport monopoly, and has slammed the organisation as “inefficient, ineffective and complacent.”
“BAA’s main focus in its offering to the consumer revolves around how many designer shops, cafes and restaurants it can provide in order to extract as much revenue as possible from the captive audience that are its millions of travellers,” he said.
“The ridiculous queues at both check-in and security, where there is inconsistency and confusion amongst holidaymakers, come as a direct result of a lack of investment from BAA, both in terms of staffing and equipment.”
“The solutions to these problems can only arrive through increased competition, which will result in more investment in airport infrastructure, a comprehensive review and standardisation of security procedures and a minimum service level agreement for customers.”
“We will be pushing for improvements to airport procedures. If these issues are not addressed, it will not be long before some of our airports come to a grinding halt.”
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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