Three UK regional airports could be sold by their Spanish owner as part of a disposal of non-core businesses.
Luton, Cardiff (pictured) and Belfast International airports are among those reported to have been put up for sale by Barcelona-based toll road operator Abertis.
Chief executive Francisco Reynés said a strategic review was underway to decide whether to dispose of the division, which owns three regional airports in Europe and has concessions or management contracts at 26 others around the world.
Airports accounted for just 8% of the group’s total sales of €4 billion in 2012.
Abertis is in talks with the Welsh government after it proposed renationalising Cardiff airport, one of the three Abertis owns, following a sharp drop in passenger numbers in recent years.
“The Welsh government has its ideas [about how it wants to run the airport] and we are in talks. The attitude [of the Welsh government] is business friendly,” Reynés told the Financial Times.
The group would consider a number of options for the airport business, including the disposal of the whole unit, a partial sale that could bring in partners, or by selling some individual assets, he added.