‘No rationale’ for Edinburgh Airport sale
18.12.08
There is no justification for forcing BAA to sell Edinburgh Airport, its managing director said today. As reported yesterday, BAA is almost certain to be ordered to sell three airports, including Edinburgh, by the Competition Commissioner. But Edinburgh Airport managing director Gordon Dewar told BBC Scotland there was no evidence that the move would increase competition with Glasgow Airport.
Mr Dewar told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme he had not given up hope the decision could still be reversed and BAA would not have to sell either Edinburgh or Glasgow. He said: ‘We are looking still for the justification for a forced sale - we don't think the evidence is there and we don't think the case has been made, and we are totally surprised by the suggestion that we may be forced to sell either airport.'
‘We are still not at the end of the process yet. This is still a consultation phase, so we have not given up that fight by any stretch of the imagination. It's important that we make our case, and I think it is also important that the Competition Commission starts listening to some of the stakeholders in Scotland that it has so roundly ignored to date.'
‘It is quite striking that they quote a handful of people that are calling for break-up and utterly ignore the great majority of stakeholders in Scotland, including the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, Chambers of Commerce, various councils and other bodies who have all argued not for break-up, and certainly I think will be even more surprised to hear that the Competition Commission feels it can recommend which one.’
The Competition Commission has pointed to figures which show only about one in 20 passengers flying from Glasgow is from the east of Scotland, with only one in 25 who use Edinburgh coming from the west. Mr Dewar said: ‘That data shows exactly that there can be no competition because people choose to use their local airport. The airlines understand it because they duplicate the same destinations from both airports. Separate ownership would have no impact on that whatsoever.’
‘The point is you have to have a reason for a forced sale - it has never happened before, the forced split-up of an ongoing concern, and the data is just not there to justify it. There is no evidence it will benefit the passengers of the airlines and in fact if anything it puts a huge cost and additional risk into the ongoing investment profile that we have and the commitments we have on pricing.’
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