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BAA and a new British port – both in deep water

Wednesday, 20th August 2008

Since I never avoid a good pun unless absolutely necessary, let’s turn to the news that BAA is to have its wings clipped. The long and the short of it is BAA may have to sell up to three of its seven airports after the Competition Commission found the current position is having “adverse consequences” for passengers and airlines. If one hadn’t had to suffer the pain and anguish associated with going through somewhere like Gatwick or Heathrow, then one might be tempted to feel sorry for BAA.

But will that do the trick? It’s worth considering what Andy Harrison, CEO of EasyJet, said on the Today Programme this morning, when he argued that passing the airports from one highly indebted company to another is not the recipe for improvement. Yes, there will be more competition between firms, but the airports are already running more-or-less at capacity so will they really be encouraged to splurge on creature comforts for airlines and passengers? Or will they concentrate on servicing debts in the same way Ferrovial has?

On a separate, but travel-related note, work has started today on the world’s most advanced port. The London Gateway on the Thames in Essex will, in the words of its boss Simon Moore, put the UK on the M1 of world shipping trade by creating a new deep water port jam packed with all the latest technologies.

While that’s good news, what’s also interesting is the port is being bankrolled by DP World. This is the same company that was effectively forced to give up a deal to buy ports Stateside due to ‘national security concerns’ in 2006. The US saw “A-Rabs gettin’ their dirty hands on American ports”, whereas we see a bucket load of cash that will help further our economic interests. Hurrah for us and a quick rendition of Rule Britannia.