Airport Competition in Europe

This report shows that the flexibility and choices available to airlines and passengers now constrain the commercial behaviour of airports. Airports now have to compete with one another to retain and attract the traffic they need. This marked development of airport competition in Europe leads us to question how far specific economic regulation of European airports is still required. We recommend that policy makers review the need for such economic regulation. In most cases airports should, as with other businesses, be subject to competition law alone. Where a measure of economic regulation is still required, it needs both to be justified case by case and designed to take better account of evolving competitive pressures.