BAA has angrily hit back at the UK House of Commons Transport Select Committee, which is advocating its break-up.
The Committee - chaired by Gwynedd Dunwoody - is calling for the dismantling of BAA”s seven-strong airport operation in order for individual sites to compete.
”BAA's position in the market means that what is good for aviation is usually good for BAA,” ran the Committee”s conclusion in its report. ”Where our views diverge is that we do not think that what is good for BAA is necessarily good for aviation. BAA claims to be best placed to deliver new capacity.
”However, the evidence we have received over the course of this inquiry and our previous inquiries into aviation leads us to a different conclusion. It is our view that the drawbacks of common ownership outweigh the advantages, and that there is much to be gained from a state of affairs where BAA did not enjoy such substantial market power.”
It also notes competition between terminals at Heathrow could have been healthy, but if that is not an option ”it makes the prospect of divestment even more likely.”
It suggests that any airport sold off would not be price-controlled, as it would be in a position of market power, and thus would be free to compete on price.
”Two of the things BAA does not have a monopoly on are skills and experience, and we are not persuaded that it would necessarily deliver new capacity faster than any other potential owner,” said the Committee.
BAA was involved in a stormy row with several airlines last week - namely Virgin Atlantic, bmi, easyJet and Ryanair - concerning the CAA”s decision to allow it to massively hike charges, and now it has had to turn its defensive shield towards the politicians.
And the news of the Select Committee”s views comes just as BAA was hoping for some relief following the Queen”s official opening of the multi-billion pound Terminal 5 last week.
The under-fire operator - owned by Spanish company Ferrovial - maintains that it will invest some ”6bn across all its properties during the next five years in a bid to drastically improve what many view as a moribund service - and has hit out at the MPs.
”The question therefore for those like the Select Committee, who advocate the breakup of BAA, is whether that would help or hinder that process of transformation,”
said the operator in a statement.
”BAA firmly believes that a break-up would only delay not just the much-needed investment, but also what the Government, and the committee itself in this latest report, have consistently identified as the overwhelming priority in the South East of England since the 2003 White Paper: the provision of extra runway and terminal capacity.”