Competition Commission rules that BAA must sell Stansted

The British Court of Appeal has upheld the Competition Commission (CC) ruling in March 2009 that the country's biggest airport operator BAA must sell Stansted plus either Glasgow or Edinburgh airports, according to the British International Freight Association.
BAA successfully appealed against the ruling in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in December 2009. CAT's judgment stated that there was "apparent bias" in the CC's ruling over Gatwick because one of the CC panel members had been an adviser to the operator of Manchester Airport, which was a competitor in acquiring Gatwick. Yet Gatwick was finally sold for GBP1.5 billion to US-based investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners last year.
The Court of Appeal's decision quashed CAT's ruling. In response, BBA said that it could appeal to the Supreme Court, a body established under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and which only started work a year ago, assuming the functions of the Law Lords.
In addition to running Stansted, Glasgow and Edinburgh airports, the Spanish-owned BAA also operates Heathrow, Southampton and Aberdeen airports.