§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what comparisons he has made of airport charges levied by the BAA and those levied in the United States of America and other countries.
§ Mr. NorrisNone. I refer the hon. Member to the airport charges index produced by TM Economics, discussed at pages 55-56 of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on BAA plc—a report on the economic regulation of the south-east airports companies including Heathrow Airport Ltd., Gatwick Airport Ltd. and Stansted Airport Ltd.—presented to the Civil Aviation Authority in June 1991. The Commission noted the difficulties of undertaking "fair" comparisons when the level of service offered by different operators varies. TME considered 40 airports; charges at Heathrow and Gatwick, for example, fell within the middle of the range of average charges.
TME produce this index annually; the most recent edition—1993—has shown that the charges at Heathrow and Gatwick have fallen relative to other airports.