BAA has ruled out selling Gatwick or Stansted airport as a way to head off a competition inquiry.
The UK's dominant airport owner, which also owns Heathrow airport, reiterated the case this morning for maintaining its monopoly ahead of a midnight deadline for submissions to an Office of Fair Trading investigation into the airport market.
The OFT said in December that it was minded to refer BAA to a Competition Commission investigation, which sparked warnings from the airport group that a multi-billion pound investment plan for Heathrow and Stansted could be scrapped.
The government's consumer watchdog had offered an olive branch at the time, saying that BAA could make "undertakings" such as disposals to offset a referral.
Stephen Nelson, BAA chief executive, said the group's new majority owner, Spanish construction conglomerate Ferrovial, had no interest in breaking up an asset portfolio with long-term growth prospects.
He said: "The airports are not for sale. We have got long-term investors who look at this over a 40 to 50-year time horizon, not 10 to 15 years."
Mr Nelson added that a growing British population and economy will guarantee growth in air travel for decades.
"Why would we want to do deals around airports given the fundamental strength of the assets?"
The biggest problem for British airport passengers, who have endured a delay-stricken six months at many BAA airports, is the lack of capacity at flight hubs, the company said.
Restrictive planning regimes, political considerations and environmental agendas are behind the increasingly uncomfortable experience of travelling through Heathrow and Stansted, BAA added.
The airlines, BAA's biggest critics, argue that the group's monopoly and a benign regulatory environment discourage investment in improving airports.
Around nine out of 10 air passengers in south-east England travel through BAA-owned facilities, with eight of 10 in Scotland travelling via BAA.
The Civil Aviation Authority also came under attack from BAA this morning. Mr Nelson said proposals to tighten the cap on the company's earnings from its London-based airports would also endanger investment plans and ensure that airlines get a worse service.
The CAA recently proposed a cut in BAA's return on capital from Heathrow. Between 2008 and 2013 it would fall from 7.75% to 6.2%, with the return from Gatwick cut from 7.75% to 6.7%.
The aviation watchdog said the cheap cost of debt meant that raising funds for BAA's investment programme would be cheaper and was the main reason for proposing a tighter cap on returns.
