On 3 July 2024, the Commission approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of ITA Airways (“ITA”) by Deutsche Lufthansa AG (“Lufthansa”) and the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (“MEF”), notified on 30 November 2023, provided that the latter fully comply with the commitments offered.

The decision follows the in-depth investigation launched on 23 January 2024, which included a Statement of Objections by which the Commission expressed its concern that transaction, as originally notified, could have reduced competition in the market for passenger air transport services on several short and long-haul routes, inasmuch as Lufthansa and ITA are close competitors. More particularly, according to the Commission the transaction could have i) reduced competition on a certain number of short-haul routes connecting Italy with countries in Central Europe through non-stop and one-stop flights, ii) reduced competition on a limited number of long-haul routes between Italy and the US and Canada, and iii) created or strengthened ITA’s dominant position at the Milan-Linate airport, thereby making it harder for rivals to provide passenger air transport services from and to the airport.

In order to address the Commission’s concerns, therefore, Lufthansa and the MEF proposed to i) make available to one or two airlines the necessary assets to enable them to start non-stop flights between Rome or Milan and certain airports in Central Europe, ii) enter into agreements with rivals to improve their competitiveness on the long-haul routes of concern, which will lead to increased frequencies of non-stop flights and/or improved connections for one-stop flights on each of the routes, and iii) transfer take-off and landing slots at Linate airport to the remedy takers for the short-haul routes, which need to be approved in advance by the Commission.

Since the commitments fully address the competition concerns, the Commission decided to approve the transaction as modified by the latter, whose implementation will be monitored by an independent trustee.

Marco Stillo