Not sure where this fits into the discussion, but as the CAA take fees and charges both from the ATOs and students does this create some type of responsibility?
I believe it does.
They are taking fees to fulfil the current responsibilities - which are for SAFETY regulation. Not economic regulation.
Agreed. However, they approve a FTO using financial viability as one of the criteria. It is not unreasonable for a punter to assume this is a stamp of approval, however misguided.
I believe this is part of 'safety'. Cost is an important factor in decision making - if you can get into an airfield without having to do that extra circuit, might you cut corners? another six minutes... 0.1 of an hour... £30 maybe... 10 flights of the same... next one's 'free'...
Large transport about to push back, might you rush your post start checks in order to get past this monster to avoid the 10 minutes waiting behind at the threshold?