[thorn bird]

Following on from the snippets thread an article from IATA regarding the folly of creating privatised monopoly airports.

Pity the mandarins who advised the government that this was a good idea will never be held accountable for their crook advice.

AAPA: IATA challenges privatized airport model
Karen Walker
Oct 26, 2017

IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac
IATA

Airport privatization has been a failure that mostly leads to higher fares for airlines but no service benefits, a study soon to be released by IATA finds.
IATA has conducted what it says is an extensive study of airport privatization and expects to release it in the next few days.
Speaking Oct. 25 at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines annual assembly in Taipei, IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said that as governments struggle to fund infrastructure investments—particularly for airports—many see privatization as the solution.
“We have no issue with injecting private sector mentality into the operation of an airport. But our message to governments on infrastructure is that airports perform better in public hands. That is the conclusion of three decades of largely disappointing experiences with airport privatization.
“The primary focus of airports should be to support local and national prosperity as an economic catalyst. But in private hands, shareholder returns take top priority. And we struggle with costs at privatized airports as far flung as Paris, Sydney and Santiago,” de Juniac said.
“To date, we have not seen any long-term success stories. Our message to governments on airport privatization is to be cautious and to consult the industry before making any decisions.”
During a follow-up round table with journalists, de Juniac said the study shows airport privatization “has been a failure.” He said airline fees increase even as airfares go down and the gap becomes “significant,” while no service improvement is seen to justify the extra costs.
He also pointed out that five major hub airports that are consistently ranked as among the best in the world—Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Seoul Incheon and Singapore Changi—are all government owned.
“The privatization model by itself is not a problem, but it shows the state does not care and we have not found one efficient privatized airport,” de Juniac said. “A state privatizes an airport because it needs money, so the interest in aviation is very remote.”
Karen Walker karen.walker@penton.com