👉 Background: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) regulates competition across all industries in Australia... including aviation.

👉  What happened: We know that Aussie airports took a hit thanks to COVID... so now, the ACCC is concerned airports might raise their prices to recover lost profits from the pandemic.

👉 What else: Airports reckon that ain't their plan, but the ACCC says it'll review the rules around commercial negotiations to make them more effective in helping airlines get a good deal... so they don't need to pass on extra costs to us.

What's the key learning?

💡 When it comes to the airport industry, it's a tale of two types: public airports (in the US, nearly all airports are government owned) and private airports.

💡 Australia's biggest airports (Think: Syd and Melbs) were handed over from government control to private owners about 20 years ago. Since then, airports have been charging increased fees to airlines who want to use their runways and other facilities.

💡As of 2018, Australia had four of the world's 10 most profitable airports. There's no real competition here, which means private airports have a monopoly over their specific state. So, you can see why the ACCC is giving a warning.

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