Virgin Atlantic is considering joining a consortium to make a bid for Gatwick Airport if BAA is forced to sell it.

In a statement today, the airline said: “If the Competition Commission recommends the sale of Gatwick Airport, then Virgin Atlantic would be interested in possibly bidding to run it, as part of a consortium.

“We would be able to bring our expertise in customer service into any ownership group. We are a shareholder in the air traffic control company NATS, which we part own with other airlines, and could imagine a similar scenario in terms of Gatwick's ownership.

“It is very early days in terms of Gatwick's future ownership and so we cannot comment on parties we may have held talks with but we are watching developments closely.”

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson told the Telegraph the airline was “open to being courted by anyone who is interested in bidding".

He said he has already had discussions with several potential bidding partners.

Manchester Airport Group and investment groups from Australia and Germany have already expressed interest in buying any UK airports sold by BAA.

The Competition Commission recently published an interim report warning that BAA may have to sell three of its UK airports, including two of its three London airports.

BAA has already ruled out selling Heathrow.

The Competition Commission’s full report is due to be published next year.


By Bev Fearis