BAA “should sell three airports”

The BBC reports on the recommendations from the Competition Commission that BAA should sell three of the seven airports that it owns.

BAA may have to sell three of its seven UK airports because of concerns about its market dominance, the Competition Commission has said.

The watchdog is recommending that the airport operator should have to sell two of its three airports in the South East – Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.

It also believes BAA should not be allowed to continue to own airports in both Glasgow and Edinburgh.

BAA said it had “no intention” of selling Heathrow, its largest airport.

It described the regulator’s verdict as “flawed” and said the forced sale of leading airports would be “counter-productive”.

The Competition Commission is an independent public body (funded by the Government) which conducts in-depth inquiries into proposed and current mergers, markets and the regulation of the major regulated industries.