Ryanair boss weighs into T5 row
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has used the chaos surrounding the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 to renew his call for airports operator BAA to be broken up.
The no-frills carrier – which operates from BAA’s other London airports Stansted and Gatwick – claimed the shambolic opening of T5 which “exposed more BAA incompetence, mismanagement and gold platingâ€.
The problems are symptomatic of widespread failure common at many BAA airports including Stansted and Gatwick where passengers routinely suffer long queues at security and passport control as well as repeated baggage belt breakdowns, the airline added.
O’Leary said: “This morning’s chaos at Heathrow provides further compelling evidence of the need to break up the BAA monopoly.
“We should allow competition between the London airports to deliver more efficient facilities, better passenger service and lower costs where the BAA airport monopoly has failed.
“If the BAA London airport monopoly was split up, competition would deliver better services and efficient terminals which actually work as opposed to complicated Taj Mahals like Heathrow’s T5. It is high time to break up this BAA airport monopoly.”
This abject customer service continues at the BAA airports because the Civil Aviation Authority’s regulatory regime has repeatedly failed to protect the needs of users because it is too busy “rewarding†BAA with price increases, the airline argued.
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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