Uncertainties about the sale of Gatwick have been keeping investors in doldrums as they are delaying buying bonds in British airports operator BAA.

An analyst, on the condition of anonymity, said, "Bond investors are delaying buying into BAA bonds because of the uncertainty around the Gatwick sale."

British airports operator said that the sale of Gatwick airport, which may bring in about1.5 billion pounds, should complete by October this year.

Earlier, the sale of Gatwick had been projected in the first half of the present year.

The company plans to utilize the proceeds from the sale to reimburse a fraction of its debt maturing in 2010.

BAA has projected total debt to be 8.7 billion pounds at the end of this year, down from 9.3 billion pounds in the previous.

The number of passengers who will use fly through BAA's airports is also expected to come down to 117.7 million from December's forecast of 119.8 million.

It may be noted here that in the Q1 Company scored a turnover of 522 million pounds as compared with 452 million pounds last year.

BAA's revenue this year is expected at 2.3 billion pounds. On the other hand, a High Court judge declined EasyJet's claim that the price rise made last year by the Civil Aviation Authority was unfair and unlawful.

Last year, in its filing, low cost airline, EasyJet said the way in which CAA granted permission to BAA to raise prices from £5.61 to £6.79 per passenger was unlawful.

Pronouncing the verdict, Mr Justice Collins said he did not consider the CAA's actions so unfair as they require court's intervention.