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We have powers under the Civil Aviation Act 2012 for the economic regulation of airport operators that pass the market power test in the Act. In February 2014 we granted a licence to Gatwick Airport Limited (GAL). The licence includes commitments that GAL gave on airport charges for the period 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2021.

The licence, an operator determination, our notice granting the licence and supporting documentation, and documents relating to our licensing of GAL are below:

More information on the market power assessment and the initial licence conditions (including the commitments) are on the market power assessment and price control pages accordingly.

Modifications to the licence

Licence conditions can be modified in two ways:

  • using a statutory process to modify set out in the Civil Aviation Act 2012
  • using a self-modification process in which GAL and its airline community can modify certain specified parts of its commitments

Public register of modifications to the Gatwick licence

Date of modification

Effective date of modification

Type of modification

Modified condition(s)

Effect of modification

Links

6 May 2021

18 June 2021

Section 22 of Civil Aviation Act 2012

Condition C1

Condition D1.5 and D1.10

Appendix:  Conditions of Use

Introduce new Commitments for the price control period from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2025.

Minor drafting changes to provide clarity.

Notice of licence modifications (CAP2144)

1 May 2014

1 May 2014

Self-modification

Appendix:  Conditions of Use

Core service standards – pier service and outbound baggage daily performance targets.

Pier service metric and associated calculations.

Outbound baggage metric and associated calculations.

Amended trial information and check-in queue measurement.

Amended definition for arrivals baggage target.

 

Close Modifications to the licence

Service quality at Gatwick

GAL pays rebates to airlines if its service quality does not reach specific standards. Details of its performance against the standards are on the Gatwick airport website.

Close Service quality at Gatwick

G7 extension

Gatwick Airport Limited (GAL) has submitted a proposal to us for the current set of commitments, which are due to expire on 31 March 2025, to be extended for a further four years.

We are now consulting on this proposal.

August 2024 consultation

This consultation sets out for consultation our assessment of GAL’s proposal to extend the commitments it makes to airlines on charges, investment and service quality, by four years from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2029:

We are consulting on these issues for a period of 6 weeks until 20 September. We expect to set out our decision on the way forward for the economic regulation of GAL in the autumn of 2024.

Responses

Close August 2024 consultation

June 2023 consultation

This consultation seeks stakeholders’ views on GAL’s revised proposal to extend the current commitments for a further four years:

We have published GAL's proposal to extend the current commitments along with our consultation document:

Responses

Close June 2023 consultation

G7 review

The initial set of commitments that formed the basis of our economic regulation of Gatwick Airport Limited (GAL) expired on 31 March 2021.

We carried out a review (called ‘G7’) of the appropriate regulatory arrangements that should be put in place after that date. We published an initial consultation in June 2018, an update letter in October 2018 and a further consultation in October 2020.

We consulted on proposed modifications to GAL’s licence in February 2021, and confirmed our final decision in May 2021.

May 2021 decision

This document gives notice under section 22(6) of the Civil Aviation Act 2012 (“CAA12”) of the CAA's decision to modify Gatwick Airport Limited's (“GAL”) licence. The modifications are to accept GAL's proposed new commitments as the basis of our economic regulation of GAL for the four year period from 2021/22 to 2024/25. This decision follows on from the notice issued under section 22(2) of CAA12 in February 2021 and the consultation on our proposed approach in October 2020.

Close May 2021 decision

February 2021 statutory consultation

Economic regulation of Gatwick Airport Limited: notice of proposed licence modifications (CAP2103)

This document gives formal notice under section 22(2) of the Civil Aviation Act 2012 of our proposal to modify Gatwick Airport Limited's (“GAL”) licence to accept GAL's proposed new commitments as the basis of our economic regulation of GAL for the four year period from 2021/22 to 2024/25. This statutory consultation follows on from the consultation on our proposed approach in October 2020.

Responses:

Close February 2021 statutory consultation

Q6 mid-term review

In 2014 we adopted a new approach to regulating the charges and services Gatwick Airport Limited (GAL) offers to airlines, based on a set specific commitments given by GAL. We carried out a review of this new framework in the second half of 2016, to consider whether it was operating in passengers' interests.

Findings and conclusions

  • Conclusion document, CAP1502 (December 2016)
    This document reports the findings and conclusions of our mid-term review of the economic regulatory framework that we now apply to Gatwick Airport Limited.
Close Findings and conclusions

Q6 licence and airport price control

Final Proposals

Close Final Proposals

Constructive engagement

Close Constructive engagement

Consultancy reports

Consultant reports commissioned by the CAA

Consultant reports commissioned by other stakeholders

Close Consultancy reports

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