ABSTRACT

The performance of the London airports has long been controversial. The major airports, Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted – all owned by the British Airports Authority (BAA) – have been criticised for providing inadequate capacity, being too crowded, offering poor quality of service and having excessively high costs and charges. Criticism in the press has been longstanding (see the Economist, 1995). After several crises in recent years, with the takeover of BAA by Grapo Ferrovial in 2006 and culminating in the problems associated with the opening of Heathrow's Terminal 5, the performance of the London airports has become a live public policy issue. Breaking up BAA, and allowing competition between the London airports, is seen as either the primary way, or at least a major way in which improved performance of the airports can be stimulated (the Economist, 2006a and 2006b, reflects these views). BAA also owns three airports in Scotland, including Edinburgh and Glasgow airports, which may be able to compete. The UK Competition Commission has provisionally recommended BAA be required to sell two of its London airports and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airport (Competition Commission, 2008b). Its final report was published in March 2009. BAA has announced it will be selling Gatwick airport.