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NATS anger over CAA price-setting proposals
Air traffic controllers are claiming that attempts to reduce its charges to airlines will increase flight delays.
According to the Daily Telegraph, National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has issued a formal response to the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) “first stab” at setting price controls for 2006-2010, saying it has “major concerns” about the proposal.
NATS reportedly added: “The CAA’s proposed package would be seriously detrimental to service delivery and capacity improvement.”
The newspaper reports that the CAA proposal is for NATS to reduce its charges by 7.8 per cent in 2006, with further reductions of around 3 per cent for the following four years.
It says these cuts cold be achieved by reducing operating costs and cutting capital spending by 20 per cent.
Paul Barron, chief executive of NATS, is quoted as saying: “We know that the CAA remains absolutely committed to safety, as we are, but implementing their proposals in full would involve taking large risks with the quality of our service and future capacity, which we are not prepared to accept. The last thing our customers want now is the risk of spiralling flight delays and capacity constraints.”
A CAA spokesman is quoted as saying: “Obviously we will take account of their response before we make our final decision.”
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
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