BAA sue Ryanair over Stansted fees
04.08.08
Stansted owner BAA has launched legal action against Ryanair to force it to pay it a recent 15% increase in airport charges introduced on April 1. Ryanair wrote to the BAA in May to inform it that it would be withholding the increase in airport charges at Stansted. Rival easyJet is taking a similar stance for charges at Gatwick.
In a document lodged with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last Friday, Ryanair confirmed the legal action. Ryanair estimates that the increase in airport charges would cost its passengers £23m in a full year. It is reported that BAA informed Ryanair in July that it was taking action in the High Court to secure the money.
The latest legal action is part of a long-running dispute between Ryanair and BAA in relation to airport charges at Stansted. BAA sued the budget airline after it increased charges four years ago and Ryanair refused to pay them. For its part, Ryanair plans to ground 15 aircraft at Stansted this winter in protest at the increased fees.
Jim Callaghan, Ryanair's director of legal and regulatory affairs, confirmed that the airline was being sued. ‘It's trying to force us to pay, but we're pretty confident that this constitutes excessive pricing and is an abuse of their dominance,’ he told The Irish Times.
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