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The contract, which is worth an estimated £500m in revenue over 10 years, comprises 1,700 sites, including posters, lightboxes, ambient media and promotional space.

The deal currently spans Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh airports, giving advertisers access to more than 140 million passengers annually, 28% of the European market.

The value of the deal is set to increase when Heathrow – already the world's busiest international airport – opens its fifth terminal in 2008.

BAA, which was formed when the former British Airports Authority was privatised in 1987, is listed on the London Stock Exchange but regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority. Colin Hargrave, managing director of UK airport retail at BAA, said the review was required under CAA regulations.

"We are subject to strict guidelines of procurement and, as such, it is time to re-tender the media contract to ensure we are delivering the best return on investment to our shareholders."

"It is an incredible contract, one of the biggest in the country, and provides great opportunity to further evolve and develop the vast array of creative media opportunities at the world's great airports."

BAA said it would advertise the tender in the Official Journal of the European Union and interested agencies could register at www.airportsmart.com.

A shortlist of four or five agencies will be invited to pitch, with a decision due by early 2006 – with start of the new agreement to be in April 2007.

BAA's media department is seeking approval to award the contract for up to 10 years, instead of the usual five.

JCDecaux Airport last defended the account in 1999, winning a five-year deal from 2000 to 2005, then a two-year extension.

Sky Sites, bought by JCDecaux in 1999 shortly before the contract was renewed, had held the concession since 1989.

Richard Malton, marketing director for JCDecaux Airport, said the review came as "no surprise. We've got a very good relationship with BAA and have demonstrated we are the experts in this marketplace," Malton said.

"You've got to think we'd be in a good position and, without resting on our laurels, we're well positioned going forward."

Malton said he was pleased at the prospect of a 10-year contract, adding that the next decade was expected to bring a substantial increase in passenger numbers.

He noted that the airport business was one of the bright spots for JCDecaux. However, the contractor is likely to face tough competition. Viacom Outdoor, which narrowly missed out in 1999, has signalled its intention to bid, while Clear Channel and Maiden Outdoor said they would consider it once the tender documents were through.

Manchester-based Peel Advertising has secured the contract to handle UK sales for poster sites at a string of strategically important airports in Greece and Spain. The deal will give UK based advertisers the opportunity to target British holiday makers at major tourist destinations, including Tenerife and Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, plus the Greek hotspots of Kos, Corfu ,Mykonos, Rhodes and Crete.

Madrid and Athens airports are also part of the package.