Prestwick airport is to be sold off by its New Zealand-based owner.

Infrastructure investment company Infratil said it will also look for a buyer for Manston Airport in Kent.

Prestwick, which is budget airline Ryanair's Scottish base, has a terminal capacity of three million and is situated in Ayrshire, about 45 minutes from Glasgow.

Iain Cochrane, chief executive of Glasgow Prestwick airport, said: "At the Infratil Investor Day today in New Zealand, it was announced that Infratil intends to sell both Glasgow Prestwick and Manston airports.

"This decision comes from a re-focusing of Infratil's investment profile and has been under consideration for some time. It's consistent with Infratil chief executive Marco Bogoievski's public comments over recent months.

"Prestwick is a great airport with a great team and a great future. I believe this is an excellent opportunity for us to attract new investment into the airport to provide the stimulus for future growth.

"Today, it's business as usual as the busy summer season approaches and we're totally focused on looking after our customers."

During Bogoievski's presentation at the Infratil Investor Day 2012, he said the sale of the airports were "no regret" decisions. He used the airports as examples of the company's "under-performing assets".

Last year, the Spanish-owned company BAA announced it was to sell Edinburgh airport after being ordered by the Competition Commission to sell either Glasgow or Edinburgh.

It said at the time that it expected the sale to be agreed by the summer.