Ryanair calls for quick sale of Stansted
12.06.10
Ryanair yesterday called for the urgent sale of Stansted Airport and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airport, after BAA confirmed that passengers s has fallen by over 8 percent, 10 percent and 14 percent respectively, at these airports since the start of 2010. The call backs a ruling by the Competition Commission last year, since overturned, but the traffic figures have been badly affected by both the ash cloud and BA strikes, which the airline fails to mention.
A spokesman for the airline says: 'The BAA monopoly’s traffic decline is in marked contrast to Ryanair’s booming traffic growth which has increased by 12 percent so far this year. The reason for this continued traffic decline due to the BAA airport monopoly’s policy of increasing passenger charges and providing abject customer services which at Stansted comprises long security queues, frequent baggage belt breakdowns, and excessive passport queues which frequently result in 1 to 2 hour delays for British citizens returning to the UK through Stansted.'
‘The BAA’s traffic figures show continued passengers declines at Stansted, Edinburgh and Glasgow, proving yet again that high cost, badly run airport monopolies like the BAA simply don’t work. These declining passenger numbers provide further evidence of the urgent need to break up the BAA airport monopoly, as recommended by the UK Competition Authorities. Forcing these airports into separate ownership will lead to a more competitive environment, lower passenger charges, improved passenger services and the roll out of additional and much needed capacity at more competitive prices.’
As an aside, Ryanair's passenger figures are based on 'booked passengers', and include millions unable to fly due to the ash cloud crisis in order to get to their 12 percent growth. BAA's figures to not. If you compare apples with pears, you get a raspberry !
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