Competition Commission requires BAA to press ahead with airport sales

UK Competition Commission announced (30-Mar-2011) BAA will still be required to sell London Stansted Airport and either Edinburgh or Glasgow Airport, following an appeal by Britain's biggest airport operator. The Competition Commission stated it has considered whether there have been any "material changes" in circumstances since it published its final report on BAA's dominance of major British airports in Mar-2009 that would cause it to reconsider the implementation of the airport sales. The Competition Commission concluded that the sale of the airports is fully justified and that passengers and airlines would still benefit from greater competition that would arise under separate airport ownership, despite government plans to rule out new runways at any of the London airports. BAA, in response, stated (30-Mar-2011) it "will carefully consider the Competition Commission's provisional decision before making any decisions or further statements. We believe that there has been a material change in circumstances since the Commission's report was published in March 2009." [more - Competition Commission] [more -BAA]