It’s official, BAA must sell two of its UK airports: Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow, after the Competition Commission (CC) today announced its final ruling after its provisional view was published in March.

BAA, which sold Gatwick Airport in 2009, will now have three months before the Stansted sales process begins, or sooner if it accepts the ruling – Stansted is to be sold first as it handles more passengers than either of Glasgow or Edinburgh Airports.

Today’s announcement marks the possible end of a long-running battle between the CC and BAA, which started in March 2009 when the CC ordered the sale of three BAA airports. BAA appealed, and in December 2009 the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) found that BAA’s application for review was successful on one ground. The CC then appealed against the CAT’s decision and the Court of Appeal upheld the CC’s Appeal and the original findings of the CC’s report were restored. In February 2011, the Supreme Court refused to grant BAA permission to another appeal.

Chairman of the BAA Remedies Implementation Group, Peter Freeman, said: “We hope that the sales can now proceed without delay so that passengers and airlines can start to enjoy the benefits of greater competition.

“Our report has been challenged, reviewed and upheld and it is clear that the original decision to require BAA to divest three airports remains the right one for customers. “It has been a long process whilst BAA has challenged the decision—quite understandably given its significance. However, both we and the courts have now exhaustively re-examined the case for the sales and found it to be sound so there are no grounds for delaying further.”

In response to the ruling, BAA Chief Executive Colin Matthews said: “We are dismayed that the Competition Commission’s final decision still requires BAA to sell Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh airport. The Competition Commission has not recognised that the world and BAA have changed. This decision would damage our company which is investing strongly in UK jobs and growth. We have a responsibility to protect our shareholders’ investment and we will now consider a judicial review of the Competition Commission’s decision.”