Monopoly on parking

I would like to comment that Stansted is one of the very few airports where the airport operator effectively has a monopoly on parking. BAA owns all the car parking spaces on the airport and there is no off-airport car parking at Stansted, thanks to the

I would like to comment that Stansted is one of the very few airports where the airport operator effectively has a monopoly on parking.

BAA owns all the car parking spaces on the airport and there is no off-airport car parking at Stansted, thanks to the efforts of local authorities to stop people offering parking on their land.

As any economist will tell you, with a monopoly comes the ability to charge prices higher than would be the case if there was competition, and as a result Stansted generates more funds from car parking than it does from landing charges.

Any commercial operator of Stansted will always seek to maximise the use of the car-parking facilities as a priority over any other form of transport to and from the airport. Whether or not BAA actually does this is for others to judge.

Neil Baylis, Thorn Grove, Bishop's Stortford