AVIAPARTNER/SOCIETA' AEROPORTO GUGLIELMO MARCONI DI BOLOGNA
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
THE COMPETITION AUTHORITY HAS IMPOSED A FINE OF EURO880,000 ON THE BOLOGNA AIRPORT COMPANY FOR ABUSE OF DOMINANT POSITION
At its meeting on 29 May 2003, the Competition Authority resolved that the management of Bologna Airport, the "Aeroporto Guglielmo Marconi di Bologna S.p.A. (SAB)" company, had abused its dominant position with respect to a ground-handling company. The SAB company had unjustifiably delayed access by the Aviapartner S.p.A. company to Bologna Airport, and had subsequently hampered its operations.
In view of the serious nature of this conduct on a market that was being liberalised, SAB was fined euro 880,000.
The relevant markets for this case are the management and provision of airport facilities at Bologna Airport, and the supply of ground-handling services at the same airport. SAB occupies a dominant position on both these markets, being the sole franchisee for the management of the airport, and the principal handling company there.
The events in the case originated with a request from Aviapartner to SAB in February 2000. Aviapartner wished to provide handling services for the KLM Airline with which it had concluded a contract, to begin in April 2000. This would have made Aviapartner the first ground-handling company to compete with SAB on the Bologna handling market. To be able to commence operations in time, SAB was under a statutory obligation rapidly to provide it with the premises and equipment it needed, and to transfer some of its own personnel to the new market entrant. In the opinion of the Authority, SAB deliberately slowed down this procedure and brought pressure to bear on KLM to convince it to change its mind and to pull out of the contract with SAB and contract its handling services to Aviapartner. After the startup of Aviapartner's operations, moreover, SAB had abused its position as the sole manager of the airport by dissuading Air France from using Aviapartner's ground-handling services.
Rome, 18 June 2003