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The company said that its decision will not affect the pensions of existing employees and that all other employee terms and conditions are unaffected.

From 1 December, new employees will be invited to join a new, defined contribution (money purchase) scheme, details of which will follow a consultation with trade unions.

BAA said that the proposed move towards a defined contribution scheme for new entrants would bring the company’s pension arrangements in line with those of the majority of UK private employers.

"The company is making this decision for two reasons," BAA said in a statement. "Firstly, the company is taking steps to protect itself and its pensioners from stock market volatility, which has recently exposed other large organisations to significant difficulties in terms of funding their pension schemes."

"Secondly, a money purchase scheme for new members provides more certainty on the scale of the company’s contributions for several years."

BAA said it will now consult with trade union representatives on the closure of the existing scheme for new members and on details of the new defined contribution pension plan.

In response to BAA's announcement, Brendan Gold, trade union Unite's national secretary for civil air transport, said: "Hundreds, if not thousands, of people are going to join BAA, especially as security workers, to be told they will have a different deal on pensions from those they will work alongside."

"We will consult our shop stewards across the airport operations to discuss how we campaign against this outrageous and wholly unjustifiable decision," Gold added. Unite has over 4,000 members at BAA, including security workers and fire fighters.

Spanish-owned BAA owns seven airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, and Southampton in England; and Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen in Scotland. The company employs 15,000 people world-wide, including 13,000 in the UK.