LEADING members of the trade fear the £10 billion takeover of BAA by Ferrovial of Spain could see investment in regional airports slashed, especially in Scotland, as the group seeks to recoup its outlay.
Scottish Passengers Agents’ Association president Sandy MacPherson warned the new owners were likely to focus on Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted at the expense of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. He said increased capacity was needed at Glasgow, as well as improved transport links to all three airports.
“I’m concerned the new owners may treat the Scottish airports as a bit of a backwater,” said MacPherson.
British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh warned: “The people who want to buy BAA are stark business people.” He said Ferrovial would look to make significant returns and described those already made by BAA as “excessive”.
Departures from regional airports have exploded in recent years, with tour operators expanding their regional programmes in the wake of the low-cost boom. Passenger numbers from regional airports doubled last year to 95 million.
Travel 2 sales manager Tom Sneddon said: “We’re looking for growth through regional airports and Edinburgh and Glasgow have been part of this with routes to the US and Dubai.”
Nicola Francis, manager of Stirling-based Unicorn Travel, said the takeover could be bad for Scottish agents. “All our customers want to go direct, they don’t want to fly via London,” she said. But Francis admitted it would be no surprise to see Ferrovial turn away from Scotland, with lower investment resulting in fewer new services.
The three Scottish airports saw annual passenger numbers rise from 19.2 million to 20.1 million last year, but these remain a fraction of the 123 million who flew from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.
A spokesman for Thomas Cook Airlines said the company would expect the new owner to honour its service level agreements, which cover spending on infrastructure.
He said: “We want the same level of service for customers no matter where they are flying from. We’ll put pressure on to make sure that happens.”
The Civil Aviation Authority has said it will not allow increases in airport charges to cover the cost of the takeover – to the delight of airlines, which have consistently hit out at BAA over its fees.
The Office of Fair Trading is due to announce at the end of this month whether it will investigate the UK airport market, a process that could lead to the break-up of BAA.
Ferrovial, which already owns Belfast City Airport and a half-share of Bristol, has claimed to be unfazed by a possible inquiry.
It is likely to complete its takeover, despite a possible counter bid by a consortium led by Goldman Sachs, since BAA’s directors have accepted the Spanish offer. BAA refused to comment.
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