LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- Britain 's competition watchdog has ordered airport operator BAA to sell three of its seven airports , including two in London . BAA must sell Gatwick Airport first . BAA must sell Gatwick and Stansted airports in London and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airports in Scotland within two years , the Competition Commission said Thursday . In publishing its decision Thursday , the commission said the sale of the airports will encourage competition `` where today there is no competition at all . '' BAA owns seven airports in the United Kingdom , including London 's Heathrow , Gatwick and Stansted . The Competition Commission says there are competition problems at all seven airports , with adverse consequences for passengers and airlines . Finding new owners for the three airports will result in lower prices and improved customer service , said Christopher Clarke , chairman of the study . All three must have separate buyers , the commission said . `` The precise pace and the precise ways in which the benefits from such competition will emerge may be uncertain , but we are confident that the benefits will build over time , driven by the momentum of the development of competition , and will be significant , '' Clarke said . In London , for instance , BAA 's ownership of three airports prevents them from building more capacity and keeps prices high , the commission said . `` The intensity of price competition may initially be limited by current capacity constraints and price controls , but these constraints are themselves at least in part the result of common ownership , '' the commission said . BAA said it acknowledged the need to change but did not agree with all of the commission 's findings . `` We believe the commission 's analysis is flawed and its remedies may be impractical in current economic conditions , '' BAA said in a statement , adding it needs more time to consider the report before responding further . Carrier Virgin Atlantic , a longtime critic of BAA 's ownership of the airports , welcomed the commission 's decision . `` It will undoubtedly benefit consumers , '' said airline spokesman Paul Charles . `` Better airport facilities in the UK and lower prices will be the result . ... The important next step is to ensure that there is adequate oversight of the divestment process . '' BAA must sell the airports in sequence , beginning with Gatwick -- which went up for sale in September -- then Stansted and then either Edinburgh or Glasgow , the commission said . The Competition Commission is an independent public group that investigates mergers , markets and regulated industries . The Office of Fair Trading , a government department , asked the commission to look into airport competition in March 2007 . The once-state owned BAA , which used to be known as the British Airports Authority , was privatized in 1986 and floated on the stock market in 1987 . It is now owned by Spanish property group Ferrovial .
UK airport operator BAA told to sell 3 of its 4 airports , including one in London . Britain 's competition watchdog said sale of airports would encourage competition . BAA will sell airports in sequence , beginning with Gatwick then London .