Edinburgh airport growth pushes Glasgow toward sale

The Spanish-owned operator is likely to be told next week that it must kick-start the process of selling one of the two airports, as well as London Stansted, when competition officials release their final report on BAA's presence in the UK market.

Any such ruling would uphold a decision reached in March, when the Competition Commission rejected a BAA appeal that it should be allowed to retain the airports.

It is widely expected that the group, owned by Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial, will opt to sell Glasgow due to the recent stronger performance of Edinburgh.

Figures yesterday showed the Scottish capital was the country's busiest air hub last month, handling 918,900 passengers, a 7.6 per cent rise on the previous year. It marked the fourth consecutive month of record numbers at Edinburgh.

Some 702,800 people passed through Glasgow airport, a year-on-year rise of just 2.6 per cent. The fastest growth was recorded at Aberdeen where passenger numbers jumped 10.1 per cent to 287,800. Collectively, BAA's three airports north of the Border handled 1,909,500 travellers, a rise of 6.1 per cent.

A spokesman for Edinburgh airport said that the choice of direct flights was helping to drive the growth.

He said: "June's fantastic performance was driven by our ever-expanding choice in leisure and holiday destinations. For many Scots, these direct flights offer an easy alternative to jet off to the sun or to relax on a city break.

"2011 has been a year of growth for us and we're confident that this trend will continue through a busy summer period."

Across the UK, BAA's six airports handled a total of 9.9 million passengers - up 4.4 per cent on the June 2010 total. Heathrow saw 6.1 million passengers pass through its five terminal buildings last month, a 6.3 per cent hike and the west London airport's busiest-ever June.

There was a big rise in the number of people flying to Brazil from Heathrow, while US destinations also did well.

Numbers at BAA's other major London airport, Stansted, fell 3.3 per cent last month while the Southampton passenger total was 0.8 per cent down.

BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said: "June's passenger figures are an early indication of a busy summer."

An original 2009 break-up order gave the group two years to dispose of three airports - a deadline that was delayed by various court appeals. BAA has already sold London Gatwick airport.

The airport operator argued that the competitive landscape had changed markedly in the past couple of years. BAA is now expected to be given 18 months to complete the disposal.