UK airports operator, BAA, owned by Spanish construction firm Ferrovial, agreed to sell Gatwick Airport to investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners for 1.5 billion pounds (US$2.46 billion) on Wednesday, as part of a competition ruling that it must offload three British airports in total.

BAA said it will use the proceeds to repay debt. A $91.9 million portion of the sale price is conditional on future traffic performance and the buyer’s future capital structure. Global Infrastructure Partners, an investment fund controlled by Credit Suisse Group and General Electric, beat several bidders in its offer, which was higher than the $2.2 billion Gatwick had been expected to fetch.

Frankfurt sees 17% cargo decline in first 3Q Frankfurt Airport says it handled 161,234 tonnes of airfreight, down 5.4 per cent year-on-year and 5,978 metric tonnes of airmail, down 16.2 per cent, in September. It also said that in the first three quarters of the year it recorded about 1.3 million tonnes of airfreight, down 16.6 per cent on last year and 56,476 tonnes of airmail, down 14.3 per cent on last year.

cargo stable Dubai International recorded an increase of 19.5 per cent in passenger traffic in September, the highest monthly growth rate since October 2007 and the fourth consecutive month of double-digit passenger traffic growth.

Cargo growth remained stable in September with a modest increase of 2.75 per cent. Dubai Airports Cargo handled 168,334 tonnes of freight in September 2009 compared to 163,836 tonnes during the same period last year. Year-to-date cargo volumes total 1.37 million tonnes compared to 1.36 million tonnes in 2008, a marginal increase of 0.4 per cent.

UAE report clears Sharjah airport The preliminary report by the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) on the accident involving a B707 cargo aircraft on 21 October has cleared Sharjah International Airport infrastructure and operations. “Preliminary investigation did not indicate any concerns with Sharjah International Airport infrastructure and operations that could contribute towards the accident,’’ the GCAA said in a statement.

The Sudanese cargo plane took off from Sharjah for Khartoum and during the initial climb a part of the airframe located around the engine separated and fell on the runway. It crashed 1.2 kilometres from the end of the runway killing all the six crew members.