UK consumer watchdog to carry out airports probe

The future of BAA was cast into doubt today after the UK consumer watchdog confirmed it would carry out a study into the airports market.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said it will look into how airports operate in the UK with a view to seeing if “the current market structure works well for consumers”.

It warned in May that it was considering whether it needed to carry out an investigation.

The OFT pointed out today that nearly two-thirds of UK air passengers begin or end their journey at BAA’s airports.

“Within the London area this rises to nine out of 10 passengers, and in Scotland over eight out of 10 air passengers fly from a BAA airport,” the OFT said.

BAA – which has agreed to a £10.3bn (€14.8bn) takeover from Spanish firm Ferrovial - operates Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as holding interests in airports overseas.