Ryanair Holdings PLC
11 April 2008
RYANAIR WELCOMES HIGH COURT REJECTION OF AVIATION REGULATOR'S FLAWED T2 DECISION
CALLS ON INCOMPETENT REGULATOR TO RESIGN
Ryanair, Ireland's national airline, today (Friday, 11th April 2008) welcomes
the High Court's decision to order the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR)
to review and clarify its previous T2 decision, which allowed the DAA monopoly
to waste €800m on an oversized, badly designed second terminal in Dublin
Airport. Having confirmed that the DAA's gold plated T2 Taj Mahal is at least
50% too large, the CAR still allowed the DAA to recover over 90% of this waste,
which, even this regulator admits, will lead to a doubling of prices for
consumers at Dublin Airport.
The High Court's decision highlights this regulators obligation to 'protect the
reasonable interests of users' and identifies the failures of the CAR's previous
decision to meet this duty.
Ryanair also announced earlier this week that it is again challenging this
aviation regulator, this time over rubber stamping a further 50% increase in
check-in desk charges (up 200% in the past three years) in what Ryanair believes
is a blatant example of collusion between the regulator and the DAA monopoly.
Both the DAA and the regulator have refused to explain or justify the reasons
for this abusive price increase to airport users.
Commenting on the High Court's decision today, Ryanair's Peter Sherrard said:
'Ryanair welcomes the High Court's decision to order the regulator to review
this unlawful T2 determination, which rewarded the DAA monopoly for its
profligate waste and inefficiency. At a time when competitive airports around
Europe are developing low cost facilities and lowering their charges, this
incompetent regulator has allowed the DAA monopoly to repeatedly raise airport
charges, as well as build expensive facilities which users don't want.
'This regulator has been an abject failure and has consistently breached his
statutory obligations to protect the reasonable interests of users and the
travelling public. In the past 5 years, Cathal Guiomard, has rubber stamped a
litany of inflation busting price increases, which can only be explained by the
fact that he is a government appointed regulator, regulating a government owned
monopoly and has no interest in actually protecting the reasonable interests of
users or consumers.
These abusive increases include:
•a 31% increase in airport charges;
•a 58% increase in car rental levy;
•a 100% increase in car parking charges; and
•a 200% increase in check in desk charges
•
'He has also confirmed that the already high passenger charges at Dublin Airport
will double in future to pay for this €800m on Terminal 2, when it should be
built for less than €200m.
'Ryanair will continue to highlight the repeated breaches by this aviation
regulator of his statutory duties and again calls on the Minister for Transport
to dismiss this failed, (and in our view) incompetent and unlawful regulator and
to introduce real competition and competing terminals at Dublin Airport'.
Ends. Friday, 11th April 2008
For reference:
Peter Sherrard - Ryanair, Tel: +353-1-8121598
Pauline McAlester - Murray Consultants, Tel: +353-1-4980300
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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