SOUTHAMPTON Airport looks set to fall into foreign hands after a £10.3 billion bid from a Spanish company for its parent BAA.

As reported in later editions of yesterday's Daily Echo, a massive bid from a consortium led by Madrid based construction giant Ferrovial has been agreed.

Uncertainty surrounds what the deal might mean for Southampton, with airport protesters describing it as "disturbing".

Passengers groups said the deal could be "a good thing" for travellers but conceded it was too early to tell for sure.

In a statement to the stock exchange, BAA said: "The board of BAA confirms it is holding discussions with the Ferrovial consortium and is also in talks with another party. The board of BAA advises shareholders to take no action and will update shareholders in due course."

Ferrovial, which runs toll roads and railways around the world, immediately moved the process forwards by snapping up 13 per cent of the airport operator.

Southampton Airport protester Mary Finch said: "It is an unknown quantity at the moment and we don't know what effect it will have on us. It is rather disturbing actually will everything stay as it is or will they sell off the small airports?

"I have always had quite a good relationship with the management. If I have had questions I have always got answers, even if I didn't like them very much. Let's hope this continues under the new owners.

"The ideal thing for me would be if they sell the place and put a housing estate on it."

Simon Evans, chief executive of the Air Transport Users Committee, said: "Any takeover of BAA could be a good thing for passengers but it's just too early to say whether Ferrovial will do a better job than BAA has been doing.

"Passengers must hope a new company running these airports will carry on with improvements and ensure a good level of service."

The airport is just the latest key slice of Southampton's infrastructure to be targeted by wealthy foreign organisations after a consortium led by US bank Goldman Sachs bid £2.44 billion for ABP, owners of Southampton docks.

Goldman Sachs was also involved in a rival bid for BAA, which has not been recommended to shareholders. Bizarrely, GIC the Singapore government's investment arm, is a key partner in that ABP bid but is backing Ferrovial against Goldman Sachs in the tussle for BAA. The third partner in the BAA bid is a Canadian investment group.

Part of Southampton Container Terminals is already owned by a Dubai firm after it took over P&O earlier this year, which had a half share in the venture with ABP.

BAA, whose seven UK airports include Heathrow and Gatwick, handled 63 per cent of passengers travelling to or from Britain last year.

In an unexpected intervention last month, the Office of Fair Trading said it was considering a formal review of BAA's near monopoly.