Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic has confirmed they are putting together a consortium to buy the airport, once it is officially put up for sale.

Image right: Sir Richard Branson

Virgin Atlantic chief executive Steve Ridgway said he was delighted BAA had ended the uncertainty over Gatwick, adding that his airline would "relish the opportunity to bid for Gatwick as part of a consortium and inject our customer service expertise into any future running of the airport".

BAA's owner, the Spanish company Grupo Ferrovial, however is not expected to show any official interest to sell the airport. They are waiting for the final findings report by the Competition Commission on Britain's airports industry to be released which is not expected to be published until Q1, 2009.

Branson's Virgin is not the only one in line and more buyers have shown interest, these include, however not limited to: the GE-Credit Suisse Investment fund, Global Infrastructure Partners, Germany's Hochtief, and Australia's Macquarie group which hold major stakes in a number of European airports.

According to the The Argus, Steve Turner, national officer of the Unite trade union, said it simply "beggared belief" that a "For Sale" sign could be hung over Gatwick and that the news was "devastating" to Gatwick staff and would also hit passengers.

The History of Gatwick.

From race course to 35 million passengers a year¹.

• Gatwick received its first airfield licence in August 1930, with pleasure flights operated by the Surrey Aero Club.
• Then situated on a race course, Gatwick had hosted a substitute for the Aintree Grand National run over three years from 1916 to 1918
• In 1934, the Air Ministry issues Gatwick with its first public licence allowing the airport to be used by commercial aircraft. It is requisitioned by the Air Ministry for use by the RAF during the Second World war
• 1956 Gatwick is closed and then rebuilt over the next two years at a cost of £7.8m as an alternative to Heathrow
• The Queen officially opens the new Gatwick airport on 9 June 1958. The first airline to use the airport is Transair. In its first full year of operation 368,000 passengers use the airport
• By 1968, passenger numbers exceed 2 million for the first time
• The single runway is extended in 1973 to 3,098 metres and later to its present length of 3,316 metres
• In 1984, the Gatwick Express is launching, running a non-stop service from London Victoria in just 30 minutes
• The Queen opens the new, £200m north terminal in 1988, a year after BAA is floated on the Stock Exchange
• Nowadays more than 35 million passengers use Gatwick each year, making it the world's busiest single runway airport. It is used by 80 airlines and flies to more than 220 destinations

¹ Source: Evening Standard – standard.co.uk