Business | Aviation
London Gatwick airport put up for sale
London Gatwick airport has been put up for sale, airport operator BAA announced on Wednesday.
- Agencies
- Published: 10:32 September 17, 2008
London/Toronto: London Gatwick airport has been put up for sale, airport operator BAA announced on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters in Toronto, BAA chief Colin Matthews said: "We have decided to begin the process of selling Gatwick Airport immediately.''
According to sources, the airport could be priced between 2 to 3 billion pounds ($3.57 billion-$5.35 billion).
The announcement comes in response to the Competition Commission, which said in a provisional ruling that BAA, the owner of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, should sell two of its London airports and one of the three terminals it owns in Scotland to boost competition.
BAA said it will try to keep its Stansted airport as a change of ownership could interfere with the airport's expansion.
"At Stansted, we believe that a change of ownership would interfere with the process of securing planning approval for a second runway, which remains a key feature of Government air transport policy," Matthews said.
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