BAA will no longer be forced into the sale of Stansted, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports after a tribunal found in favour of the operator's appeal against the Competition Commission (CC).

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ordered the CC's decision to force the sale of Stansted, Gatwick and either of the two Scottish airports to be quashed on the grounds of "apparent bias" in the investigation's findings. BAA claimed that Professor Peter Moizer's inclusion as part of the inquiry team raised issues of bias due to his role as an advisor to the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, linked to Manchester Airports Group - a potential bidder for BAA assets.

Both the CC and budget airline Ryanair have been refused permission to fight the CAT ruling, although the commission will have the opportunity to take the matter to the High Court. A Ryanair spokesperson said: "As a result of this decision, the sale of Stansted and one of the BAA's Scottish airports will now be delayed for a minimum period of two years, with the result that traffic at Stansted Airport will continue to decline, as consumers suffer squalid and inefficient terminal facilities and continue to be victimised by the BAA monopoly's high charges."

BAA has already completed the sale of Gatwick Airport to London City Airport owner, Global Infrastructure Partners.