Gatwick Airport sold for £1.5bn

Date: 21/10/2009

Airport company BAA is to sell Gatwick for £1.5 billion.

Gatwick Airport, one of London's main air terminals, is being sold by BAA to Global Infrastructure Partners.

Colin Matthews, chief executive of BAA, said that he was "proud of the airport's development" but the company needed to shift focus

"BAA is changing and today's announcement marks a new beginning for both Gatwick and BAA," he said.

"We wish Gatwick well for the future … BAA will focus on improving Heathrow and our other airports."

Around £55 million of the sale price is conditional on the future traffic performance of the airport.

It employs 2,500 people and is the busiest single runway airport in the world.

More than 32 million passengers were handled by Gatwick in the year up to September 2009.

A number of big airlines fly from the airport, including easyJet, British Airways, Monarch Airlines and Thomas Cook.