Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways said on Sunday it was not about to sell its stake in National Air Traffic Services after a report said seven airlines, including Virgin, had put their stakes up for sale.

NATS was privatized in 2001 with the Airlines Group -- a consortium of seven carriers including Virgin, British Airways, bmi, easyJet, MyTravel Airways, Monarch and Thomsonfly -- owning 46 percent. This was later reduced to 42 percent.

"We are not prepared to sell our stake in NATS. We are long-term investors," Virgin Atlantic's director of communications Paul Charles said. He added that six out of the seven must agree to sell for a sale to go ahead.

Earlier, the Sunday Times reported the seven had put up for sale their stakes in NATS, the company that provides air traffic control in the UK. It said the seven had put in GBP50 million (USD$92 million) in 2001 and could make up to six times that, according to unofficial estimates of NATS' value.

Industry sources said the pressure to sell had come from the chartered airlines such as MyTravel Airways, Monarch and Thomsonfly and that the other operators were looking to keep their stakes in NATS for the long term.

Among the other shareholders, the UK government retains 49 percent, an employee trust holds 5 percent while airports operator BBA, being taken over by Spain's Ferrovial, has 4 percent.

A BA spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.