London/Essen (dpa ) - The British airport company BAA faces having
to sell two of its three London airports, most likely Gatwick and
Stansted, the British Competition Commission said Wednesday,
rekindling the interest by German Hochtief company to buy Gatwick.
The commission, which monitors competition standards, said in a
preliminary report due to be confirmed in April, that the airport
operator should sell two of either Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted
airports.
The watchdog also recommended that the BAA give up one of its two
Scottish airports, Edinburgh or Glasgow. In total, BAA runs seven
British airports.
The final decision over the future of the airports would be taken
in April, said the commission, which had found that the single
ownership of Britain's leading airports was having 'adverse
consequences' on air traffic for passengers and airlines.
Reacting to the report, BAA chief Colin Matthews said the company
would not sell Heathrow, yet he conceded the watchdog's findings on
'poor service' and 'frustration' for passengers.
In Germany, the Essen-based Hochtief company said it continued to
have a 'great interest' in Gatwick, the UK's second largest airport.
However, it remained unclear at this time when and under which
conditions the company would get involved, a spokeswoman said.
In principle, however, the company was interested also in other
airports should they become available, she said.
'We will look at all of them', she said, adding further steps were
expected in the autumn.
BAA, which belongs to the Spanish Grupo Ferrovial, has come under
pressure in recent years over delays and service standards. The
report especially blamed the company for slow responses to passenger
concerns and the failure to expand the airports' capacities.
Besides the German company Hochtief, the British airport operator
Manchester Airport Group expressed an interest for one of the three
London hubs, which process 90 per cent of all air traffic into
London.
The group, which operates airports in Manchester, Bournemouth,
East Midlands and Humberside, said it was considering 'one or more'
BAA airports.
Hochtief had said in the past it wanted to expand its operations
and concessions business which also includes airports. The companies
is currently considering stakes in the airports of Riga, St
Petersburg and possibly also Prague.
The British Competition Commission does not explicitly recommend
the sale of Gatwick and Stansted, but BAA has made clear it was
opposed to selling Heathrow.
The company also accused the watchdog of mistakes in their
judgement and said an airport sale would be counterproductive.
Airlines including Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic Airways and Easyjet
welcomed the commission's findings.
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