easyJet response to Competition Commission report

"We welcome the Competition Commission's remedies, but they can only address part of the problem. The simple fact is that airports like Gatwick are a monopoly and simply changing the ownership will not change that fact. On the contrary, any new owner of Gatwick will have to pay a full price and will have every incentive to exploit the weaknesses of UK airport regulation with air passengers having to pick up the bill yet again.

“Until there is dramatically more airport capacity in the South East, each of the BAA airports will continue to operate as local monopolies and monopolies rarely act in the interests of their customers. easyJet agrees with the CC that there is a pressing need for more airport capacity in the South East of England but until there is enough capacity for the market to operate freely, the CC’s hopes that price regulation could eventually be removed at Gatwick is always going to be thwarted by a monopolist owner.”