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A major investment fund has bought Gatwick Airport for £1.51bn, ending the British Aviation Authority’s (BAA) forty-year monopoly on the London airports, and silencing the Competition Commission, who had urged the BAA to sell up.

Global Infrastructure Partnerships (GIP), an alliance between industrial kings, General Motors, and Credit Suisse, already claims ownership of London City Airport, but a second UK facility proved too tempting to resist.

The sale had been on the cards since 2008, but following the departure of all the major buyers, the BAA put the auction on hold. A buyer wouldn’t re-emerge until late 2009, just in time to staunch an estimated £12.5bn hole in the aviation firm’s wallet. Manchester Airports Group, the eponymous owners of Manchester Airport, recently pulled out of negotiations.

Pending EU approval, the sale will not be completed until Christmas, 2009. Three percent of the sale price (£55m) hinges on the future performance of Gatwick Airport, and the state of the GIP’s piggy bank.

Recent figures place the BAA’s share of London passengers at an impressive ninety percent, far outstripping that of rival operators. The BAA wants to use its newfound wealth to put a smile back on the bank manager’s face, and to clean up capacity issues at Heathrow Airport.

Colin Matthews, chief executive at the BAA, waved a tearful goodbye to the airport: “We wish Gatwick well for the future and are confident that the airport will flourish under new ownership. Today's announcement marks a new beginning for both Gatwick and the BAA.”

Gatwick was recently named the best airport at the Travel Bulletin Star Awards, an accolade that rewards pioneers of UK industry.