The EU Commission has signaled both about the planned takeover of Air Europa by the International Airlines Group and of Ita Airways by Lufthansa that it has serious concerns and that extensive concessions may be necessary. Now IAG boss Luis Gallego is suggesting that 40 percent of the Air Europa slots could be given away.

Only recently it emerged from Brussels that the competition watchdog was dissatisfied with the concessions offered so far by IAG and Globalia. These wouldn't go far enough. Now IAG boss Luis Gallego goes into an interview with the newspaper “El País” and brings up the plan that around 40 percent of Air Europa’s take-off and land rights could be given to competitors.

There should already be interested parties for these, as Ryanair, Volotea and Plus Ultra, among others, are already in the starting blocks. However, it is unclear how the distribution of take-off and landing rights could be distributed between short-haul and long-haul routes. Nothing has been decided yet, because first IAG has to convince the EU Commission that the measures will actually mean that there will no longer be any monopoly routes operated by Air Europa or Iberia on the Spanish market in the future.

At the end of April 2024, the competition authorities will send a letter to IAG. This then formulates exactly which concerns that need to be addressed could lead to a ban on the takeover. A decision should then be made by July 15, 2024. It is not yet clear whether concessions will be sufficient, whether official requirements will be imposed or whether the deal will not be permitted.

Competitor Lufthansa is also currently wrestling with the EU Commission about joining Ita Airways. In this case, the competition authorities also have serious concerns and are demanding deep concessions. These could affect not only the presence at Milan Linate Airport, but also the transatlantic business.

The fact that the EU Commission is closely examining the takeovers of airlines by large aviation groups and that it is at least not completely ruled out that there will be a ban or such strict conditions that the buyers back out is not purely a coincidence. Concessions and conditions made in the past have proven to be effectively ineffective and have resulted in higher prices for passengers. An example of this would be the takeover of Austrian Airlines by Lufthansa and the integration of Air Berlin remnants into Eurowings.