Vexing question

To regulate, or not to regulate airports?

Airport profits consistently have outpaced passenger growth over the past decade while major airports remain far more insulated from market fluctuations than airlines. This has led Australia’s consumer watchdog to argue that the ‘light-handed’ regulatory framework adopted 10 years ago has failed to prevent airports from taking advantage of their monopoly status.

But the Australian government has disagreed, siding with a recent report by the Productivity Commission that said airport charges “look reasonable” in comparison to overseas airports and “do not point to the inappropriate exercise of market power”.