UK airport operator BAA will have to sell two of its airports after the Court of Appeal rejected its claim of regulatory bias during an investigation by the Competition Commission.
The company will now be forced to sell off Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh airports, the High Court has ruled. It is thought this will allow for greater competition, better service and a greater choice of flight destinations.
BAA, which also owns Heathrow airport, has already sold Gatwick, Britain's second busiest airport, to Global Infrastructure Partners for £1.51 billion.
The decision will still leave BAA with four of the original airports in its portfolio.
BAA successfully appealed to a tribunal in December 2009 by arguing that a member of the Commission’s advisory panel also had an interest in the owner of Manchester airport—a potential purchaser of Gatwick.
BAA, which is owned by a consortium led by Grupo Ferrovial of Spain, has now saidit will seek permission to appeal the case to the Supreme Court, because today’s ruling confirmed there was possible bias during part of the original investigation.
A BAA spokesman said: “We are disappointed that the Court of Appeal has upheld two of the five grounds argued by the Competition Commission. We note the Court’s view that apparent bias in relation to a panel member existed during part of the Commission’s investigation and will study this judgement carefully.
“We will be seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.”
