Gatwick Airport Sold to French Conglomerate After Drone Attack

It may have been in the news as of late due to a drone attack that caused major disruption to services at the facility, but it has just been announced that LGW has formed a new corporate partnership. The airport has been sold to Vinci Airports, which operates 40 different airports around the world.

While London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW) recently made headlines for a drone attack that caused widespread disruption at the facility, it has also just been announced that LGW has formed a new corporate partnership, the Evening Standard reports.

The outlet states that, as part of the agreement, a group headed by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), an American investment company, will see the airport come under the ownership of Vinci Airports. The sale was completed for £2.9 ($3.7) billion and will see Vinci acquire a 50.01 percent stake in LGW. The outlet reports that Vinci already operates multiple airport facilities across Asia and Europe as well as the Americas.

Offering his comments in a statement, LGW chairman, Sir David Higgins, said, “We very much welcome this commitment from Vinci Airports to Gatwick which is a vote of confidence in Gatwick and its future potential.”

Stewart Wingate, the airport’s chief executive, said, “This is good news for the airport as it will mean both continuity but also further investment for passengers over the coming years to improve our services further. We currently fly to over 220 destinations around the world and are ambitious to do even more in the years ahead.”

“There will be no changes to the immediate running of Gatwick and we expect the transaction to complete by the middle of next year,” he added.

In a statement, Vinci said, “This acquisition represents a major strategic move by Vinci Airports into a strongly performing airport located in a globally significant aviation market. Gatwick will become the largest single airport in Vinci Airports’ growing worldwide network.”

The sale is scheduled to be formally completed as of the second quarter of 2019.

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