Transport Secretary, Ruth Kelly, has today published decisions on whether Stansted and Manchester Airports will continue to have their charges regulated by the independent regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The following decisions have been made in the best interests of passengers:
Manchester will be de-designated so that it will be able to set its own charges.
Stansted will continue to have the maximum level of its charges set by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The Government believes that this remains the best way of protecting passengers who use the airport.
Ms Kelly said:
"In making my decision on Stansted, I have taken into consideration the fact that the airports in the south-east are now operating at almost full capacity. This is bad for passengers in terms of delays, congestion and lack of choice and it is also bad for the UK's productivity and growth. This is why the Government supports a second runway at Stansted and is currently consulting on adding capacity at Heathrow, whilst satisfying strict local environmental conditions on noise and air quality.
"Until this new capacity can be delivered, the CAA plays an important role in protecting passengers. I am therefore asking the CAA to continue to protect passengers by setting price caps at Stansted until new capacity is delivered or until further evidence emerges from the ongoing Competition Commission review.
"In making my decision on Manchester I have taken into consideration the fact that other local airports, such as Liverpool airport, offer real choice for passengers. Furthermore, there is spare capacity at Manchester and competing airports now and for the foreseeable future, even allowing for expected growth in demand. The decision to de-designate Manchester will enable the airport to grow and develop without the costs of excessive regulation falling to passengers in the future."
The following decisions have been made in the best interests of passengers:
Manchester will be de-designated so that it will be able to set its own charges.
Stansted will continue to have the maximum level of its charges set by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The Government believes that this remains the best way of protecting passengers who use the airport.
Ms Kelly said:
"In making my decision on Stansted, I have taken into consideration the fact that the airports in the south-east are now operating at almost full capacity. This is bad for passengers in terms of delays, congestion and lack of choice and it is also bad for the UK's productivity and growth. This is why the Government supports a second runway at Stansted and is currently consulting on adding capacity at Heathrow, whilst satisfying strict local environmental conditions on noise and air quality.
"Until this new capacity can be delivered, the CAA plays an important role in protecting passengers. I am therefore asking the CAA to continue to protect passengers by setting price caps at Stansted until new capacity is delivered or until further evidence emerges from the ongoing Competition Commission review.
"In making my decision on Manchester I have taken into consideration the fact that other local airports, such as Liverpool airport, offer real choice for passengers. Furthermore, there is spare capacity at Manchester and competing airports now and for the foreseeable future, even allowing for expected growth in demand. The decision to de-designate Manchester will enable the airport to grow and develop without the costs of excessive regulation falling to passengers in the future."
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