Press Release
Gatwick welcomes sale of Stansted
19 July 2011
Gatwick welcomes sale of Stansted
19 July 2011
- Healthy competition amongst airports is good news for passengers and airlines
- Independent Gatwick gives a ‘foretaste of the benefits competition can bring’
Gatwick welcomes the Competition Commission’s (CC) final decision today that BAA must sell off Stansted and one of its Scottish airports in order to increase competition in the airport market and improve customer service.
The sale of Gatwick to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) over a year and a half ago illustrates the benefits that can be delivered to passengers as a result of airports being under separate ownership. The sale of Stansted will bring greater competition between the London airports, which can only mean good news for passengers.
Stewart Wingate, Chief Executive of Gatwick Airport said: “Today’s ruling by the Competition Commission that BAA must now push ahead with the sale of Stansted is welcome news and underlines the importance of competition in the airport market.
“Under separate ownership, Gatwick is delivering real benefits to both airlines and passengers. Faster connectivity from Gatwick into central London and better commercial opportunities have seen airlines, including AirAsia X, airberlin and Norwegian Air Shuttle, switch from Stansted to Gatwick. BA and easyJet are growing their operations and airlines new to the UK, such as Vietnam Airlines, are choosing Gatwick to develop and grow their London network. Passengers flying from Gatwick are benefiting from having many more destinations to choose from.
“Passengers are also now receiving better service. Average security queue times last year were under two minutes and passengers with young children can choose to go through a security assistance lane to get a service tailored to their specific needs. We were the first airport in the UK to offer this service. Greater competition amongst the London airports will see us raise the bar further still to make Gatwick the airport airlines and passengers want to fly from.”
Media enquiries to
GATWICK AIRPORT PRESS OFFICE
+ 44 (0) 1293 505000
gatwickmedia@gatwickairport.com
