Australia's aviation sector has been accused of price-gouging, but airlines say 'monopolistic' airport operators are driving up costs

Australia’s airlines have been accused of price-gouging but several industry insiders say there’s another reason your airfares are high — the airports. In his recent union-funded price gouging report, former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chair Allan Fels singled Qantas out for overcharging. But Professor Fels also called out airports in the report. The report stated they hold monopoly power and are "enabled to overcharge" due to unregulated prices. The report also stated that when the ACCC has previously called for greater regulation it has “been rejected with weak reasons”. Those views are shared by Graeme Samuel, the chair of Airlines for Australia and New Zealand, who is keenly aware of hostility between airlines and operators. "If we look at the relationship between airports and airlines it's been fraught with tension over many years," Mr Samuel told 7.30. "And that is primarily because while the airlines are subject to many competitive pressures between themselves, the airports are monopolists. And when monopolists are negotiating, they are not really negotiating they are saying take it or leave it."<br/>