BAA ‘against selling Scottish airport in current climate'
25.08.09
The sale of Glasgow or Edinburgh airport by BAA is unlikely to take place until at least 2012 and could be pushed even further back by legal challenges and the continuing slump in aviation, the Herald reports. The Competition Commission, which in March ruled that BAA must sell Gatwick, Stansted and one of the two Scottish airports in order to stimulate competition and improve services for passengers, has conceded that its original two-year timetable has been derailed by an appeal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
BAA has appealed two aspects of the commission’s ruling, on the grounds of alleged bias and a complaint that it failed to take account of the effects of selling the airports in the current very difficult market conditions. The appeal hearing is due to start in October and unlikely to conclude before next spring. Even if the tribunal upholds the commission’s findings, BAA could still pursue the matter in the courts, which would be likely to put the sale of either Scottish airport back to 2013 or even further, the newspaper adds.
A spokesman for the commission told the Herald that it was now ‘unrealistic’ to expect the sale of all three airports – first Gatwick, then Stansted followed by either Edinburgh or Glasgow – to conclude within two years. He said: ‘The timescale has yet to be finalised, but it is likely that the two-year period would commence at the end of any appeal process.'
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