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Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has expressed a desire to buy one of the two airports being sold by the British Airports Authority (BAA). The BAA has been told that it must sell Stansted, and one of either Glasgow or Edinburgh airports, after the Competition Commission found that the firm’s monopoly on UK aviation was detrimental to competition in the industry. Charlie Cornish, chief executive at MAG, said that the operator would “definitely have a look” at any future sale, if the airports could “deliver value for shareholders”.

At present, MAG’s four airports in the UK handle a combined 22.8m passengers a year, according to Civil Aviation Authority figures for 2010, compared to 104m at the BAA’s six hubs. If the BAA was forced to sell Stansted and Glasgow (for example), the aviation firm’s hold on UK aviation would slip to 79m travellers per year. The purchase of Stansted by MAG would add 18.6m passengers to the operator’s annual figures, creating a hypothetical, end-of-year figure of 41.4m travellers. The market place would even out, but the BAA would retain the largest share of the aviation cake.

It is extremely unlikely that the BAA will ever be dethroned, as Heathrow Airport adds 66m travellers a year (and a host of freight movements) to the operator’s annual tally. Further strengthening the BAA’s position is the low chance that Stansted and one of the two Scottish Airports will be sold to the same company. If MAG was to buy Stansted and Glasgow, for example, the firm would control four ‘top twelve’ airports, compared to the BAA’s two, a figure that is likely to upset the Competition Commission.

MAG previously tried to purchase Gatwick from the BAA in 2009, but was unable to acquire sufficient funding. However, the company was instrumental, albeit unintentionally, in a minor BAA victory over the Competition Commission in 2009, which placed the sale of Stansted and one of the two Scottish airports on temporary hold. The BAA complained to the Competition Appeals Tribunal of “apparent bias” in the sale of Gatwick Airport to Global Infrastructure Partners, after it was discovered that Peter Moizer, a man with an interest in MAG, was on the panel that originally forced the BAA to sell up.

A date for the sale of Stansted, and Edinburgh or Glasgow airport, has not yet been set. The Competition Commission is currently considering the BAA’s claims that the aviation industry has changed sufficiently since the original sale order to warrant a review of the entire case. The plea is based around the current government’s refusal to consider any airport expansions in the southeast, a move that severely limits the BAA’s ability to expand its business.

MAG currently owns Humberside, Bournemouth, East Midlands, and its namesake, Manchester Airport. The BAA has six airports in its portfolio, namely, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Southampton, Stansted, and Heathrow.