White Heather
Elite Pro-Member
The strongest indication yet that LBA and MAG will take legal action if needs be. And so they should.The is a very interesting article in the Yorkshire post regards DSA using taxpayers funding to entice airlines from rival airport as Leeds/Bradford's CEO Vincent Hodder issues warning.
Leeds Bradford CEO issues warning to Doncaster Sheffield Airport over taxpayer funds
If Doncaster Sheffield Airport uses taxpayer money to entice airlines from rivals there will be “a real problem”, the chief executive of Leeds Bradford has warned.www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
Its behind a paywall so see below.
Doncaster Sheffield Airport: warning issued over use of taxpayer funding by Leeds Bradford CEO
If Doncaster Sheffield Airport uses taxpayer money to entice airlines from rivals there will be “a real problem”, the chief executive of Leeds Bradford has warned. The reopening of DSA, which closed in 2022, is set to cost £193m of public money, with local leaders hopeful that commercial flights will take off again in 2028.
Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones has said this will bring 5,000 new jobs to the area by 2050, while South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard said it was the “number one thing I can do to bring growth” to the region. Mr Coppard said there have been “positive conversations” with Tui and Wizz Air - who previously ran flights out of the airport. Munich Airport International is set to operate DSA, and insiders believe it will be cheaper for airlines than under previous owners Peel Group.
However, questions remain how the publicly-funded airport - run through the council’s arms-length company Fly Doncaster - will be able to attract commercial airlines. Now, LBA has indicated it may consider some form of legal action, should DSA use taxpayer money to entice airlines to use the airport.
Vincent Hodder, chief executive of LBA, told The Yorkshire Post: “We’ve operated alongside privately owned and operated DSA for 20 years. We don’t see this as an issue. “However, we stand against the use of public money to intervene in a competitive market. “As long as DSA is investing in infrastructure and operating the business in a competitively stable manner, they can do as they wish and I am supportive of them doing so. “However, if they then take taxpayers’ funds and shareholder’s cash and give it to airlines to encourage them to move aircrafts, that’s when the problem arises. “This then distorts the competitive market, and I would have a real problem with that. Instead, I would encourage them to compete fairly in the market.”
The area’s former MP Nick Fletcher, who has recently published a book called The Revival, said this would be the major hurdle for DSA to overcome. “To get these airlines anywhere near DSA, they are going to have to entice them with money to come and land,” he said. “They cannot use taxpayers’ money for that because Leeds Bradford and East Midlands will take them to court straight away. “The only way around will be to use private investment money.”
However, City of Doncaster Council has just indicated it is not looking for private investors until it gets the airport up and running. A spokesperson said: “We will … be going out to the market again when the time is right and the time is not now because our focus is on securing a certificated and licenced operating airport.” The council has previously told the Government's Subsidy Advice Unit that it believed any “discounts or incentives” offered to airlines would comply with legal rules.
DSA bosses will likely be keeping close attention to a case that will be heard at the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal in February. Bristol Airport has complained that a £205m subsidy from the Welsh Government to Cardiff Airport has given it an unfair competitive advantage. This case could set an important legal precedent for DSA, as regulations changed in this area of law following Brexit.
