Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has scrapped his predecessor Geoff Hoon's plans to take over the running of Heathrow if London's premier airport got into financial difficulty. However new plans announced today have sparked a debate, with airports regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) insisting it will not allow the likes of Heathrow to raise prices to shore up its finances.

At the height of the financial crisis, Hoon put forward plans to take Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted into "special administration". But announcing a U-turn today, Adonis put the onus on the CAA, saying its duty to protect passengers has been extended to ensure airport owners — in this case BAA — can finance their activities. The CAA immediately quelled suggestions it will automatically help out cash-strapped airport operators at the cost of the passenger.

Read the full article in The Evening Standard.


When this DfT consultation was reported last May the Telegraph quoted an unnamed source as saying "I think parts of the Government do understand it but the question is whether they decide to put protecting the public ahead of protecting BAA and Ferrovial."

Now we know the answer. It's not the public.