BAA to lose sell-off battle

Competition chiefs are expected to confirm today that the airport operator BAA will have to sell two of its airports.

The ruling by the Competition Commission comes two years after its original decision in 2009. At that time the commission ruled that BAA would have to sell Gatwick and Stansted airports as well as either Edinburgh or Glasgow airport.

Although BAA sold Gatwick at the end of 2009, the sales of the other airports were delayed by a series of legal challenges by BAA to the ruling, which ended with the commission's findings being upheld.

In a preliminary ruling in March, the commission said that the sale of the airports was still fully justified and Stansted should be sold first.