The Competition Commission today confirmed its ruling that BAA should sell Stansted Airport and either one of Edinburgh or Glasgow Airports.
The Commission made its initial ruling two years ago in March 2009, but BAA has been fighting through the courts to retain its portfolio of airports.
After the sale of Gatwick in December 2009 to a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners, BAA currently operates six airports: Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
BAA first took its case to the Competition Appeal Tribunal, with some success on the grounds of bias, but the Court of Appeal restored the Commission’s original report in October last year. On 18 February 2011, the Supreme Court refused BAA permission to appeal further.
“We remain convinced that the original decision to require BAA to divest three airports is the right one for passengers and airlines,” said Peter Freeman, chairman of the Competition Commission.
“We have re-examined that decision in the light of a significant subsequent development when the Government decided to rule out further runways at London’s airports. Having examined the case closely, we are clear that many benefits will still arise without that expansion, by increasing competition and addressing detrimental effects from BAA’s common ownership.”
Whether that is the end of the matter, however, remains to be seen. BAA has agreed only to "carefully consider" the commission's provisional decision before deciding how to proceed, restating its belief that there has been a "material change in circumstances" since the initial 2009 ruling.
The CC will now invite responses before publishing its final verdict in May or June.
