Aviation: airport regulation

This note sets out the regulatory framework at UK airports, including recent reforms in the Civil Aviation Act 2012, and explains the role of the regulator, the CAA.

The 2012 Act introduced a new regulatory regime at the UK’s major airports (in the event only Heathrow and Gatwick), based on assessment of market power and focused on the interests of passengers and airports’ customers (airlines etc.). These changes were the culmination of several years of consultation by both the previous Labour and present Coalition governments.