Virgin Blue Airlines Pty Limited has withdrawn its notification of an access dispute with Sydney Airport Corporation Limited under the access arbitration provisions in Part IIIA of the Trade Practices Act 1974.
Virgin Blue lodged a written notice with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Tuesday 22 May following negotiated commercial settlement of the dispute.
Virgin Blue notified the ACCC of an access dispute with SACL on 29 January, and an arbitration related to access to the declared Airside Service began in February 2007. The dispute related to the level of and the methodology for calculating the price SACL was charging Virgin Blue for the use of airside services at Sydney airport
Part IIIA is a regulatory framework designed to encourage commercial negotiation.
Following Virgin Blue's success in having services at Sydney airport declared, Part IIIA allowed for arbitration by the ACCC if commercial negotiation failed.
"The outcome of this arbitration illustrates that Part IIIA is working as intended, and that the regulatory framework provides a useful backdrop that supports effective commercial negotiations," ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today.