Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes in the level of competition between airports on the UK aviation sector in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

The Department for Transport has not performed its own assessment of the effects of changes in the level of competition between airports on the UK aviation sector.

Under the Civil Aviation Act 2012 the independent Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has a duty to act in passengers’ interests and promote competition where appropriate. To this end the CAA will economically regulate UK airports with significant market power, where the benefits of regulation outweigh the costs. As part of this the CAA assesses the level of competition between airports, where required.