East Midlands airport has escaped a £12.5 million fine despite being found guilty of fixing prices for its car parking services.
An investigation by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) found the airport and Prestige Parking Limited broke competition law by agreeing that Prestige would not sell its service at below a minimum price.
East Midlands imposed this requirement as a condition of allowing the car parking firm to access facilities between October 2007 and September 2012
The airports regulator also found the companies exchanged information about their prices and the airport actively monitored Prestige's prices.
The CAA said Manchester Airports Group – East Midlands owner – faced a fine of £12.5 million but reduced it to zero because it disclosed full details of the wrong-doing.
The CAA's director of markets, Richard Moriarty, said: "Competition at airports is crucial to ensure that consumers benefit from choice and value for the whole passenger journey, including for services such as car parking at the airport.
"The fact that an airport operator owns land at the airport on which an independent business operates, does not mean that the airport can dictate the price of services sold by that independent business."
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