Heathrow ‘abused dominant position’ to force car park operators to move
05.05.11
Heathrow Airport ‘abused its dominant position’ to force two valet parking companies to move their drop off and pick up points, ABTN reports that a High Court judge has found. Purple Parking and Meteor Meet and Greet Parking launched a legal action against Heathrow Airport, after they were told to move their valet parking operations from the terminal forecourts at Terminals 1 and 3 to the short stay car parks.
As Heathrow allowed its own similar meet and greet services to remain at their existing trading locations on the forecourts, the move was deemed to be anti-competitive by High Court judge Mr Justice Mann. The judge ruled that Heathrow had ‘abused its dominant position’ by the compulsory relocation. It infringed section 18 of the Competition Act 1998 in ‘unlawfully discriminating between its own meet and greet operation and that of the claimants’.
A spokeswoman for Meteor told ABTN that they were ‘delighted’ to have won the case. She said: ‘We also see the ruling as a win for the consumer, who can continue to choose from well-established meet and greet / valet parking operators at BAA airports.’ A BAA spokesman for Heathrow said it is ‘disappointed’ with the High Court’s decision, adding: ‘We will be considering its implications both legally and practically. With the capacity constraints faced by Heathrow and the limited space we have on forecourts, we do not believe there is space for multiple companies to operate without interfering with airport operations.’
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