THE deadline for the sale of Edinburgh Airport has reportedly been extended for another week.

The Reuters newswire said Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) – an investment fund founded by Credit Suisse and General Electric that already owns London's Gatwick and City airports – and a JP Morgan-led consortium were due to submit final bids by the end of this week.

However, an extension has been granted to allow JP Morgan, which recently added the Korean airport authority and US teachers pension fund TIAA-Cref to its consortium, more time to put its proposal together.

A source told The Herald the deadline had always been around the middle of April, but did not specify exact dates.

BAA last year chose to sell Edinburgh Airport instead of Glasgow Airport after the Competition Commission ordered it to dispose of one of its Scottish sites.

The sale is expected to fetch BAA £500 million.

BAA, owned by Spanish transport conglomerate Ferrovial, declined to comment.