Ryanair parks Stansted

RYANAIR said it would not be taking part in the (EURO)1.5bn sale of London's Stansted Airport after the airport's owner, BAA, excluded the airline from the process. Stansted, Britain's fourth-busiest airport, was put on the block by Ferrovial-owned BAA in August after it was forced to sell off assets by the UK's competition regulator. Ryanair had previously stated it had held talks with potential bidders for Stansted after it was asked to consider acquiring a minority stake as part of a consortium. But Spanish transport giant Ferrovial has now excluded Ryanair from the process, the airline said, without citing any reasons. Around 70pc of Stansted's traffic was with Ryanair last year, the airline added.