East Midlands airport car parking competition case

On 26 March 2015, the CAA opened an investigation into suspected breaches of competition law concerning access to facilities for airport car parking operators in the UK. The investigation is being conducted under both Chapter I and Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998.

Title, case reference and sector	Relevant legislation and case type	Suspected infringement	Start date
Case Ref: CA98-001 Sector: Airport Operation Services	Case type: Relevant Legislation: Competition Act 1998 Chapter I and Chapter II	Suspected price fixing and price information exchange in relation to access to facilities at an Airport. Suspected abuse of a dominant position in the upstream market for the provision of access to facilities at an Airport to distort conditions of competition in the downstream market for the provision of car parking services at an Airport	26 March 2015

The CAA found that East Midlands International Airport Ltd, its parent company the Manchester Airports Group Plc (EMIA), and Prestige Parking Ltd infringed Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 by agreeing to fix parking prices at EMIA, supported by an information exchange and monitoring.

The agreement was implemented as a condition of EMIA granting Prestige Parking Ltd a lease and concession to provide car parking facilities at the airport between October 2007 and September 2012. As part of the agreement, the parties agreed that Prestige would only sell its car parking services to consumers for at least the same price as EMIA’s own car parking prices.

The Competition Act 1998 prohibits agreements that may have a damaging effect on competition and it is not appropriate for either airports to interfere with the pricing of services provided by third parties.

The CAA followed a streamlined procedure with the agreement of the parties.

The CAA published a non-confidential copy of its decision (CAP 1507).

In June 2017 the CAA decided to close the Chapter II on grounds of administrative priority.

In December 2016 the CAA also concluded a review of market conditions for surface access at UK airports and issued an advisory letter setting out some concerns identified by the review. The letter encouraged all market participants to review their practices and ensure they are compliant with competition and consumer law.

Information about the CAA’s Competition Act powers and investigation procedures is available on its web site.

Indicative case timetable

Investigation opened	26 March 2015
First decision point: to proceed with our investigation	December 2015
Initial evidence collection complete	February 2015
Secondary evidence collection complete	April 2016
Second decision point on (i) to proceed (ii) to close case on administrative priority grounds (iii) to move to a no grounds for action decision	April 2016
State of play meeting	June 2016
Investigation on Chapter I outcome (Issue of Statement of Objections)	December 2016
Decision in regard to Chapter I	December 2016
Decision to close the Chapter II element of the investigation on grounds of administrative priority	June 2017

Record of updates

29 June 2016	The CAA revised its timetable.
18 March 2016	Following evidence collection the CAA revised its timetable.
25 June 2015	The CAA met with the target and complainant to discuss the provision of evidence. As a result of these meetings we have altered our administrative timetable to reflect a revised timeline.
5 December 2016	The CAA issued statement of objections to East Midlands International Airport Ltd, its parent company the Manchester Airports Group Plc, and Prestige Parking Ltd. The Statement of Objections sets out the CAA concerns in regards to a suspected agreement to fix parking prices at East Midlands International Airport supported by an information exchange and monitoring being in breach of Chapter I.
15 December 2016	The CAA found that East Midlands International Airport Ltd, its parent company the Manchester Airports Group Plc, and Prestige Parking Ltd infringed Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 by agreeing to fix parking prices at East Midlands International Airport, supported by an information exchange and monitoring.
14 June 2017	The CAA decided to close the Chapter II element of the investigation on the grounds of administrative priority. The suspected abuse of dominant position was in relation to the upstream market for the provision of access to facilities at East Midlands International Airport, where the airport operator was suspected of distorting competition conditions in the downstream market - the provision of car parking services at the airport. This does not mean that the CAA has reached a view on whether there was been an infringement of the Chapter II prohibition of the act.