The battle for take off and landing slots at London Heathrow airport intensified on Thursday, as a small number of coveted slot pairs became available as a result of the EasyJet takeover of GB Airways from the Bland group.

GB Airways’ four pairs of slots at Heathrow, the most congested airport in Europe, were not included as part of the EasyJet takeover and are being sold separately by the Bland group in three different deals.