Airports “taking credit”

AIRLINE representatives have accused the country’s major airports of “taking credit” for international passenger growth, and have criticised the current “light-handed” approach to the regulation of Australia’s gateways.

As the Productivity Commission prepares to investigate the power of privately operated airports, the Board of Airline Representatives of Australia (BARA) has expressed concerns that current levels of regulation have “not delivered the high-quality airport services outcomes envisaged for international airlines”.

It follows similar concerns raised by Airlines for Australia & New Zealand and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission about the monopoly powers of the major privatised airports ( TD Fri).

In a statement, BARA said over the past 12 years international passenger numbers had increased by 82%, yet airport operators “seem to be taking credit for these outcomes, including the level of competition between international carriers”.

Instead, BARA attributes growth to global trends including rising household incomes and lower travel costs, as well as government efforts in establishing bilateral aviation agreements.

The organisation acknowledged improvements made by airport operators, but said its members were operating with airport services that fell below reasonable expectations given associated charges.

“Underpinning these issues, most agreements with airlines still fall well short of being commercially balanced,” said BARA exec director Barry Abrams.

“Airlines often have no contractual rights to enforce any minimum standard over the availability of services,” he said.