The Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs, Chris Bowen today welcomed the release of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Airport Monitoring Report 2007-08.
Every year, the ACCC monitors the quality of services, costs and profits for Australia's five major airports — Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. The latest monitoring report covers the 2007-08 financial year.
The ACCC found that a combination of increased demand for services and an increase in average aeronautical prices contributed to an overall increase in profitability at the monitored airports in 2007-08.
The report also found that despite profitability increasing for the monitored airports, the average overall rating for quality of service for the airports decreased slightly in 2007-08.
Airport car parking charges were a focus of the report; the ACCC found that airport car parking charges were roughly constant or increased slightly on average in 2007-08.
The Government notes preliminary concerns from the ACCC that airport car parking charges may be being set above an efficient level. In light of this, the Government will continue to examine developments with respect to airport car parking charges and levels of new investments in car parking space.
The Government will consider issues raised by the ACCC and reflect on what further action might be appropriate.
The ACCC will continue to monitor the performance of Australia's five major airports over the 2008-09 financial year.
Copies of the report are available on the ACCC website www.accc.gov.au.