CC welcomes Stansted sale confirmation

Last month the Court of Appeal upheld the CC's decision to require BAA to sell Stansted, following the latest in a series of legal challenges.

Laura Carstensen, Chairman of the BAA Remedies Implementation Group and a member of the original Inquiry Group, said:

"We are very pleased that BAA has finally agreed to proceed with the sale of Stansted Airport. We believe that both passengers and airlines will benefit from the introduction of new ownership and increased competition."

The sales process will now proceed with the CC being closely involved to ensure the suitability of the new owner (See Notes for Editors).

BAA completed the sale of Edinburgh Airport to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in May this year, the second of three airport sales required by the CC following its 2009 report into BAA's ownership of seven UK airports (PDF, 56 Kb). GIP bought Gatwick Airport from BAA in December 2009.

Following a number of legal challenges and a CC reassessment of the original decision, the CC brought forward in October 2011 (PDF, 39 Kb) the requirement for BAA to sell either Edinburgh or Glasgow Airport whilst BAA continued to challenge the sale of Stansted Airport. Prior to the Court of Appeal, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) had already upheld the CC's decision in February 2012.