The Competition Commission has recommended that BAA sells two of its three airports in the South East - Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, and one of its two airports in Scotland - Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The recommendation arrives out of concerns about Spanish-owned BAAs market dominance.
BAA, however, does not want to sell Heathrow, its largest airport.
BAA has been hotly criticised for poor customer service and delays at its airports, particularly Heathrow.
The commission said many of the problems of recent years were related to the same ownership of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, which in total account for nearly 90% of departures and arrivals into London.
The sale of Gatwick and Stansted now looks likely. If the airports are sold, the commission reportedly believe they should be owned separately to encourage competition.
The final decision on the company's future will be taken next April.
