Ryanair to withhold Stansted price increases

Ryanair have confirmed that it has written to the BAA Stansted objecting to the proposed 7% increase in passenger charges at Stansted.

It follows a 100% increase in passenger charges imposed by BAA Stansted in April 2007.

Ryanair will withhold these latest increases until the outcome of its judicial review proceedings at Stantsed.

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said: "These latest unjustified price hikes by the BAA airport monopoly prove that it is abusing its monopoly power over passengers and airlines at Stansted.

Mr O'Leary said the price hikes "prove that the CAA is an incompetent and incapable regulator" which has "put the financial needs of the Spanish-owned BAA airport operator above the interests of airport users and consumers which it is obliged by law to protect".

"There is no obligation on the BAA monopoly to increase its prices up to the maximum permitted cap, yet it continues to do so despite the fact that it already benefits from traffic figures which are way ahead of forecast at Stansted, and Capex spending that is way behind budget.

"Yet again, passengers at Stansted are being forced to pay significantly higher airport charges for the dubious pleasure of being stuck in long security queues, never ending passport queues and repeated baggage belt failures at Stansted airport.

"T5 doesn’t work, Stansted Airport doesn’t work, the BAA airport monopoly doesn’t work in the interests of consumers.

Mr O'Leary concluded that "it’s time that the Competition Commission and the British government broke up this foreign-owned, failed, anti-consumer monopoly, and got rid of the incompetent, ineffective CAA regulator".