bmi welcomes Competition Commission findings on BAA

bmi, London Heathrow’s second largest airline, has welcomed the latest findings of the Competition Commission, which calls for BAA to sell three of its seven UK airports, ending its market dominance of airport ownership in London and Scotland.

bmi chief executive Nigel Turner said: “We welcome the Competition Commission’s findings and thoroughly support the break-up of the BAA’s dominance of airport ownership in the UK.

“bmi has argued for many years that the ownership of the three major London airports and Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland by one operator prevents competition between them, especially amongst London airports where they enjoy 91 per cent of the total market in London and the South East. This has resulted in unresponsive customer service for airlines and passengers, lack of investment in capacity growth, whilst delivering higher costs and price increases that could not be sustained in a competitive environment.”