LONDON (ShareCast) - The Competition Commission’s recommendation that BAA should be forced to sell some UK airports was welcomed by budget airline Ryanair but criticised by BAA.

The report said the airport operator, which is owned by Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial, should sell two of its London airports and one at either Glasgow or Edinburgh.

BAA currently operates Gatwick, Stansted and Heathrow airports in London, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports in Scotland and one at Southampton.

“Ryanair welcomes the Competition Commission's comprehensive report into the market power of the BAA monopoly and fully endorses its findings,” Jim Callaghan director of legal and regulatory affairs at the airline, which has its UK hub at Stansted, said.

Rival airline British Airways said tougher regulation at UK airports – with a view to increasing capacity – was more important than who owns them.

"We think the ownership structure is secondary; the focus should be on strengthening the regulatory system," Reuters quoted the airline as saying.

The report drew sharp criticism from BAA, which like BA has alluded to the need for greater capacity.

"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," chief executive Colin Matthews said.

But the Commission dismissed BAA's claims. "BAA has argued that there is no scope for competition to develop so long as there are capacity constraints," Christopher Clarke, the report's author, said.

"We take the opposite view. Unless the market is opened up to competition, there is a serious risk that the current capacity constraints will persist."

The Commission is now seeking views on its proposals with its final report expected in the first quarter of 2009.

• News Channel