"Competition and regulation in the airport sector: the Brazilian experience and future perspectives".
Competition; sector regulation; airports; pro-competitive approaches; pro-competitive evaluations
This thesis aims to examine the interactions between competition law and sector regulation in the airport sector from the Brazilian experience, in order to suggest future perspectives on pro-competitive approaches. To this purpose, it will first provide a general overview of competition law and sector regulation, discussing their objectives, characteristics and tools, as well as how they are applied in practice and how they influence each other. Then, the relationship between competition law and sector regulation in the airport sector will be analysed. After presenting the particularities of the sector, the thesis x 2 will discuss key issues where the interactions between sector regulation and competition law emerge more clearly, such as whether there is competition between airports, airport slot allocation, ground handling services and the supply of aviation fuel at the airport. Finally, the thesis will propose future perspectives on pro-competitive approaches that ensure the existence of competition law and sector regulation as complementary instruments of market supervision. After presenting international guidance in this regard, the thesis will focus on three instruments that can provide further convergence between competition law and sector regulation: ex ante pro-competitive evaluations, ex post pro-competitive evaluations and quantification of benefits from pro-competitive interventions.