Expansion at Stansted Airport to proceed

The largest low-cost carrier hub in Britain is set to expand, as the airport’s two largest customers threaten that they will cancel more flights if the plans move forward.

Stansted Airport has received the go-ahead from regulators to increase its capacity by 10 million passengers, but both easyJet and Ryanair are warning that the airport will actually see fewer flights if fees are increased to pay for the cost of the expansion.

The government was quick to approve the increase in passenger capacity from 25 to 35 million annually at Essex Airport, allowing approximately 120 more flights per day. Stansted’s two largest customers, however, are cutting capacity from the airport during the coming winter season, and have said that they will initiate further cuts if the airport expansion leads to increased fees.

EasyJet and Ryanair, together responsible for 70 per cent of the flights operated from Stansted, have said that the expansion would add around £550 million to the airport’s costs, and believe that this will be paid for by raising landing fees.

BAA, which owns Stansted, responded that these concerns expressed by easyJet and Ryanair were premature, in that a regulatory inquiry will determine landing fees for the airport.

www.stanstedairport.com