groundhand,
Airports have a de facto monopoly. This doesn't give them the right to b****r the passengers about. We have the EU ruling on delays that penalise the airlines: I'm saying we should have rules penalising the airport for its inefficiencies. Especially when those inefficiencies are caused by 'cost saving' i.e. not spending money where they need to.
Airports aren't like supermarkets, where if you don't like Sainsbury's, you can go to Waitrose or Tesco. In the south of the UK if you don't like BAA, that's it. Even if BAA is split up, to some extent, there will still be pseudo monopoly - basically, for many places, you'll have to use Heathrow - or not fly.
Which is why I argue that airport operators have a duty to provide a reasonable service - and it's arguable that BAA doesn't do that. Anyone know how much BAA gets per passenger (including charges for security)?
The best way to make them do their duty to the passengers is to introduce statutory penalties that pay the passenger, not the Treasury.