Qantas, Virgin bosses say lack of monopoly regulation on airports squeezing consumers and airlines dry

Airlines and airports have blamed each other for steep increases in ticket prices over recent years. But neither has promised to lower prices despite airlines calling on the federal govt to intervene on their side of the dispute. The two big airline bosses will visit Canberra Wednesday to urge treasurer Josh Frydenberg to regulate airports to stop them charging excessive landing fees. “It’s a unicorn,” Qantas CE Alan Joyce said. “There shouldn’t be an unregulated revenue stream in a monopoly environment. There is in this case and that’s bad for consumers.” Virgin CE Paul Scurrah said airports have charged his airline an extra A$109m over the last 3 years. “So it makes it almost impossible for us to keep discounting airfares where we’re absorbing those charges going through,” he said. <br/>