Regulator may call for BAA break-up

LONDON (Reuters) - The UK's Competition Commission may be set to recommend the break-up of the British Airports Authority (BAA), which is owned by Spain's Ferrovial (FER.MC), The Observer newspaper reported.

Such a ruling would force BAA, which operates seven airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted, to sell at least one of its facilities.

That would most likely be Gatwick, which could fetch up to 2 billion pounds, the newspaper said.

The competition watchdog is due to announce the provisional findings of its inquiry in the next two weeks.

The Commission is investigating whether problems faced by airline travellers through Britain, as highlighted by the botched opening of Heathrow's Terminal 5, are caused or exacerbated by BAA's monopoly.

In April, it said the operator may not be best serving the interests of airlines or passengers.

The commission's preliminary study found that, under a single owner, there was no competition among some of the airports.

(Reporting by Matthew Scuffham; Editing by Jason Neely)