Australia: Stop bashing us, 'bruised' Melbourne Airport tells airlines

The boss of Melbourne Airport has hit back at claims that Australia's monopoly airports are gouging airlines and that privatisation has been a failure. Instead, Lyell Strambi says airports should get more credit for helping boost carriers' profits. Airlines have been on a war path over what they say are skyrocketing fees to land and take off at airports, and earlier this year Qantas, Virgin Australia, Air NZ and Regional Express formed the group Airlines for Australia and New Zealand to lobby for relief. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's annual report into airports this year found airports had steadily increased how much they charged airlines and boosted their profit margins over the past 10 years, taking in A$1.57b more in revenue than if they kept the fees steady in real terms. <br/>