Airport sell-off confirmed

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} A UK industry regulator has confirmed that airports operator BAA must be broken up, through the sale of Gatwick and Stansted Airports as well as one of two Scottish airports.   BAA owns seven airports, and the Competition Commission has been investigating its dominance in Scotland and the south-east of England for the last two years.   In its final report, the commission confirmed its preliminary findings and ordered that BAA must sell either Edinburgh or Glasgow airport, as well as the two London airports, within two years.   The regulator stipulated that the airports must also be sold in sequence, starting with Gatwick, followed by Stansted, and then finally either Edinburgh or Glasgow to ensure an orderly sale process. The sale of Gatwick is already under way and possible buyers are being vetted.   The regulator said its move was the "only way to address comprehensively the detriment to passengers and airlines from the complete absence of competition between BAA's south-east airports and between Edinburgh and Glasgow."   BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said they may appeal the decision, as selling three airports in the current economic climate could be impractical. BAA has two months to respond to the findings.   Last month BAA reported a sharp drop in profits for the year ending 31 December 2008, down to ┬ú23 million compared with ┬ú476 million in 2007, after suffering from lower passenger numbers and higher running costs.   *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *