Belfast City Airport up for sale

In 2003, ownership of the airport passed to Ferrovial

Belfast City Airport has been put up for sale on the open market by the Spanish Ferrovial Group.

The airport, which was renamed after George Best in 2006, began commercial operations in 1983.

At that time, the terminal buildings consisted of converted sheds and a wartime hut, and baggage handling was done by the airport's Fire Service.

Since then, the airport has undergone extensive development with a new terminal opening in 2001.

In 2003, ownership of the airport passed to Ferrovial, which has its headquarters in Madrid. It bought the airport for £35m.

The group has interests in the construction industry and airports around the world.

This year, the airport is likely to be used by about 2.7 million passengers.

The development of the facility means the price tag is likely to be more than £100m - meaning the owners will have trebled their money in five years.

Airport management have stressed that there will be no impact on the day to day operations of the facility.