CAMPAIGNERS against Stansted Airport’s expansion are “delighted” that operator BAA may be forced to sell two of its London airports.

The Competition Commission has provisionally found competition problems at each of BAA’s seven UK airports and is now consulting on possible solutions, one being to sell two of the three London airports - Stansted, Heathrow and Gatwick.

In a statement, campaign group Stop Stansted Expansion said: “We have long argued for a break-up of BAA and are therefore delighted by today's provisional findings report from the Competition Commission, concluding that BAA must sell two of its three London airports.

“We consider it inconceivable that BAA would willingly sell Heathrow, which means that Stansted and Gatwick must both be sold.

“This will not in itself remove the threat of a second runway at Stansted but we believe it moves us a step closer to the day when this idea will be abandoned. We look forward to working with the new owners of Stansted towards achieving this objective.”

But Colin Matthews, BAA’s chief executive, said: “The Commission’s findings state that the lack of runway capacity is a main reason for what it calls the current poor standards of service and the lack of resilience at times of disruption, which results in regular delays.

“By calling not just for a fundamental restructure of BAA but also for a review of the Government’s Air Transport White Paper, the Commission risks delaying that delivery of new runways and making better customer service less, not more, likely."