Virgin Atlantic keen as BAA sells off Gatwick Airport
Airport operator BAA has put Gatwick Airport up for sale, with Sir Richard Branson's airline, Virgin Atlantic, saying it would "relish" the chance to buy it.
Spanish-owned BAA said it was beginning the sale process for the West Sussex airport "immediately" and that customers, staff and business would benefit from the decision.
The BAA move follows a damning report last month from the Competition Commission which spoke of poor levels of service for airlines and passengers and proposed that BAA should give up running two of its three London airports.
BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said the decision to sell Gatwick - used by 35 million passengers a year - had not been taken lightly.
He added that the company wanted to continue to operate its two other London airports - Heathrow and Stansted - as well as its other south east England airport, Southampton.
Virgin Atlantic chief executive Steve Ridgway said he was delighted BAA had ended the uncertainty over Gatwick, adding that his airline would "relish the opportunity to bid for Gatwick as part of a consortium and inject our customer service expertise into any future running of the airport".
Manchester Airport Group - which includes Manchester in its four-airport portfolio - is another company that has already expressed interest in running a BAA airport.
Other bidders could include Germany's Hochtief, Global Infrastructure Partners, the GE-Credit Suisse Investment fund and Australia's Macquarie group.
Steve Turner, national officer of the Unite trade union, said it simply "beggared belief" that a "For Sale" sign could be hung over Gatwick and that the news was "devastating" to Gatwick staff and would also hit passengers.
Mr Matthews said it was likely to take months to complete any sale. He said: "Gatwick has long been an important and valuable part of BAA and the decision to sell was not taken lightly.
"We believe that the airport's customers, staff and business will benefit from the earliest possible resolution of current uncertainty.
"When the Competition Commission (CC) published its provisional findings, we said that we would be realistic in our response, though we disagree with the commission's report and the analysis on which it is founded."
In provisional findings issued last month from the long-running inquiry into BAA's position, the CC said it was likely to order BAA to sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports in southern England and one of either Glasgow or Edinburgh Airports.
Mr Matthews went on: "We will continue to present our case, in respect of the South East airports and those in Scotland.
"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."
He added: "BAA will continue to change in many respects. We have a new management team. Our priority is to improve the quality of service we offer passengers and airlines."
BAA is owned by Spanish giant Ferrovial, which bought the firm in 2006.
It has faced mounting criticism over the last few years - a time in which the company has struggled to cope with rising passenger numbers, extra security procedures and the shambolic opening of Heathrow's Terminal 5.
Mr Turner, whose union represents airport workers, said: "It simply beggars belief that a 'For Sale' sign can be hung across the country's second largest airport.
"Gatwick is a core component of the national infrastructure and an essential part of the UK's aviation sector yet it is to be flogged off with little care for the wider social impact."
He went on: "This is devastating news to the many hundreds of professional, loyal and dedicated staff at Gatwick and it will hit passengers too.
"At a time when the sector is being battered by the credit crunch, faces tough challenges in soaring fuel prices and new security measures, aviation needs stability, not the fire sale of a profitable, significant airport."
Mr Turner urged BAA to reconsider its decision and argue the case for retaining ownership, adding that the Government could not "sit on the sidelines" while airports were "destabilised".
He continued: "It is yet another failure of regulation but Unite will not stand by while workers pay the price with their jobs and passengers see services cut."
Unite warned that selling off airports would lead to higher costs and hit services.
Mr Ridgway said: "Virgin Atlantic would relish the opportunity to bid for Gatwick as part of a consortium and inject our customer service expertise into any future running of the airport.
"But Gatwick doesn't just need a new owner - it needs a much tougher regulatory system which ensures any new owner doesn't simply become BAA Mark 2."
Other bidders, including American and Asian groups, could also emerge in the coming months in what could be a multibillion-pound tussle.
Analysts have estimated that the sale of Gatwick could fetch between £2 billion and £3 billion.
Gatwick is the busiest single-runway airport in the world, hosting 80 airlines and managing 262,000 air transport movements per year. It employs more than 25,000 people, around 2,400 of whom work for BAA.
In its stinging criticism last month, the Competition Commission said separate owners of the main London and Scottish airports would do a better job than BAA.
The commission also highlighted a lack of responsiveness by BAA to the needs of its airline customers, a lack of initiative in planning capacity, investment not tailored to the requirements of airport users, and lower levels and quality of service for both airlines and passengers.
BAA boss Mr Matthews said: "Our response to the Competition Commission's report, and our announcement concerning Gatwick, is intended to focus our efforts accordingly."
