This sort of sounds sensible and yet:

BAA is preparing itself for the break-up of its three London airports.
The Daily Telegraph understands that the airport operator is to admit
to the Office of Fair Trading that it is willing to negotiate a quid
pro quo whereby it cedes control of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted in
return for lighter economic regulation.

Clearly, the reason for some of the economic regulation is the near monopoly BAA enjoys on airports around London. So remove that monopoly and remove some ofthe constraints. All clear so far.

But BAA, which was recently bought by a consortium led by Spanish infrastructure investor Ferrovial, is set to stop short of calling for its own break-up, strongly arguing the three airports should remain under one roof.

Aah, no. The three airports should be sold off seperately, surely? It’s the monopoly itself which needs to be broken. Combine that with a few other useful ideas, like pricing and trading of the landing slots, and we’ll start to see a more economically rational pricing structure in aviation. Just as important as proper pricing for the CO2 externalities is proper pricing for the congestion.