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BAA calls for more capacity as OFT opens investigation – 2 Apr 2007

Airports operator BAA has responded to its referral to the Competition Commission by ABTA and the Office of Fair Trading because of its dominant position in Scotland and London.

BAA, which operates Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted airports in London and Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen in Scotland, says the case will solve little and problems are caused by capacity not a lack of competition.

“The fundamental problem for passengers is lack of capacity not structure,” claimed BAA chief executive Stephen Nelson. “Putting BAA in the dock for a complex set of problems – with deep legacy causes – will not help solve them.”

Nelson said the completion of Terminal 5 and a new improved Terminal 2 at Heathrow along with plans for a new runway at Stansted would help to solve capacity problems.

Nelson also committed to tackle airport queuing times claiming the airport operator is “ready to make major, long term investments in British airports.”

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