NATS overcharging TBI?
Small airports owner accuses Nats of overcharging
Andrew Clark
Monday May 26, 2003
The Guardian
Britain's part-privatised air traffic control service is accused of abusing its near-"monopoly" position by imposing excessive costs on smaller airports.
TBI - the owner of Luton, Cardiff and Belfast International - is calling for the civil aviation authority to regulate the fees levied for controllers in airport towers, who look after take-offs and landings.
The airport company has been in dispute with Nats this year over the cost of equipment at Luton, including communications systems for ground staff, controllers and pilots.
TBI wants to be a "low-cost" operation but claims Nats is insisting on installing state of the art hardware of the same sort used at BAA's London airports. "We're constantly being given the Bentley when what we want is something mid-range," said Luton airport's managing director, Paul Kehoe.
TBI pays £3.6m a year for air traffic control at Luton, £2.5m at Belfast International and £2m at Cardiff. The company is particularly concerned by the fairness of pricing after Nats' recent financial bailout, in which rival BAA took a 4% stake in the air traffic control service and nominated two board members.
TBI claims Nats has an effective monopoly, providing services for 14 of the UK's biggest airports. Its only significant competitor is outsourcing firm Serco, while some smaller airports have in-house air traffic control.
TBI's chief executive, Keith Brooks, recently met Nats boss Richard Everitt to complain about costs. The firm pointed out that fees levied on airlines for "en route" control, once planes are in the sky, are already subject to regulation.
A Nats spokesman rejected the complaint, insisting airports had a choice of suppliers. He added that as a condition of its investment, BAA had agreed not to interfere with Nats' airport business.
"We are not overcharging our airport customers," the spokesman said. "Our prices reflect cost plus a reasonable return for the expertise we provide."