Published: 19/03/2009 00:00 - Updated: 23/03/2009 09:50

Stansted Airport must be sold

By Sinead Holland

STANSTED Airport must be sold within two years, the Competition Commission (CC) ruled this morning (Thursday, March 19).

The order came in a long-awaited document published by the monopolies investigator at 7am.

It ruled against BAA once more and confirmed its provisional findings that the Essex hub must go on the market along with Gatwick and either Glasgow or Edinburgh in Scotland. In the South East, the operator has only been allowed to keep Heathrow.

Chairman of the inquiry into BAA, Christopher Clarke, said the sale of Stansted and the other two facilities was "the only way to address comprehensively the detriment to passengers and airlines from the complete absence of competition". He determined that "alternative measures will not suffice," despite BAA's concerted campaign to keep hold of Stansted.

While the Essex hub must be hived off within two years, the exact date by which the deal must be sealed will not be made public. However the CC has reserved the right to appoint an independent divestiture trustee to ensure it is completed.

The CC's deliberations have delayed BAA's immediate plans for a second runway at Stansted after the public inquiry set to start next month was deferred by Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government,Hazel Blears pending the outcome.

However the CC has made it clear that "benefits" including delivering new runways are still on the agenda for Stansted's new owner, but may now be "some years away" - even though part of the reason BAA has been forced to sell is for not providing extra capacity fast enough.

The Government has also been warned by the CC that its policy development should not constrain the market, in a further blow for groups such as SSE who oppose aviation growth.