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BAA continues its fight to overturn the forced sale of London Stansted Airport |
UK. BAA is shortly to announce which of Glasgow or Edinburgh airports it will sell, following the UK Competition Commission’s ruling that it must divest several airport assets. But the airport company said it would continue a legal battle to overturn the forced sale of London Stansted Airport.
This follows the Competition Commission’s March 2009 order to BAA to divest London Gatwick and Stansted airports and either Edinburgh or Glasgow. At that time the Commission said that BAA’s common ownership of the airports market gave rise to “adverse effects on competition”.
The Competition Commission has now accepted a proposal from BAA to reverse the order of sales. Its original decision required BAA to sell Stansted first, followed by either Edinburgh or Glasgow Airport.
BAA Chief Executive Colin Matthews said: “We are pleased that the Competition Commission has accepted BAA’s proposal to reverse the order of airport sales in its 2009 decision and 2011 decision.
“BAA has already sold Gatwick and will now sell either Edinburgh or Glasgow Airport. Both Edinburgh and Glasgow are great airports with great futures and we will be sorry to see one of them leave BAA.”
BAA said it would continue with its judicial review proceedings relating to the Competition Commission’s July 2011 decision requiring BAA to divest Stansted. BAA is legally entitled to challenge the Commission’s July 2011 decision and believes it has strong grounds to succeed.
Matthews said: “We will continue with our judicial review proceedings against the Competition Commission’s decision requiring BAA to sell Stansted.
“We believe the South East airports market has changed and BAA has changed since the Competition Commission’s 2009 decision. It is also clearer now than it has ever been that Heathrow and Stansted serve different markets.”
The sale of Edinburgh or Glasgow would leave BAA with five airports: Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Aberdeen, and one of either Edinburgh or Glasgow.
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Scottish choice: Either Edinburgh (above) or Glasgow (below) will be divested by BAA following the Stansted sale | |
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