BAA is to drop its name in favour of plain Heathrow after concluding that the initials, derived from the old British Airports Authority, no longer fit a foreign-owned company with no authority that has been forced to sell off half its airports.

As well as Heathrow, the other airports previously operated under the BAA umbrella – Glasgow, Aberdeen, Southampton and Stansted – will run as standalone brands.

The company was established in 1986 when the British Airports Authority was privatised, and floated on the stock exchange the following year. In 2006, it was purchased by a consortium led by Spanish firm Ferrovial, and de-listed. Three years later the Competition Commission ordered the group to sell off Gatwick, a Scottish airport, and Stansted – a decision BAA fought and has only just accepted. Heathrow accounts for the vast majority of BAA's turnover.

Colin Matthews, chief executive of Heathrow the company, said: "We are a different company today from when BAA was formed. Over the last few years we have sold our stakes in Gatwick, Edinburgh, Budapest and Naples airports and we are in the process of selling Stansted airport. The BAA name no longer fits. We do not represent all British airports, we are not a public authority, and practically speaking the company is no longer a group as Heathrow will account for more than 95% of the business.

"Dropping the BAA name marks a symbolic break with the company of the past. We want Heathrow's focus to be on its customers, to continue to improve its operational performance and to carry on investing billions of pounds in new passenger facilities."

He added: "We are now starting the process of replacing the BAA name with each individual airport brand. We will continue to publish quarterly financial results for airports financed with publicly traded debt. Following the sale of Stansted these results will therefore focus solely on Heathrow airport."