The EU Commission appears to be examining Lufthansa's entry into Ita Airways particularly closely, as the authority requires a "notification document" of around 600 pages, some of which must contain unusual information.

According to a report by Handelsblatt, Lufthansa and Ita Airways are said to be confronted with extensive requirements from the EU Commission. A notification of around 600 pages is required. This must also provide information about the future on-board menus. Lufthansa circles say that it would involve an enormous amount of bureaucratic effort that could sometimes take a lot of time.

The EU Commission seems to be taking things particularly seriously when it comes to Lufthansa this time. The reason behind this could well be that the controversial state aid, the approval of which was revoked by the courts, was largely “waved through” in accordance with the wishes of the German government. The lax review was later declared unlawful, although an appeal is pending before the ECJ and the Kranich Group claims to have already repaid the loans in full.

Apparently the EU Commission is now checking much more closely and is demanding detailed information that goes into so much detail that even information about planned meals on board Ita Airways has to be provided. Lufthansa initially wants to get in with 41 percent and put 325 million euros on the table. This could be increased to 2025 percent by 90 and then taken over completely later. The plan is comparable to the one implemented at Brussels Airlines.

However, it is now questionable whether the originally announced schedule can be adhered to, given the enormous effort involved in requesting documents from the EU Commission. It is also widely known that Lufthansa also has its eye on the commercially available Tap Air Portugal. To what extent the complicated takeover of Ita Airways will have a beneficial or harmful effect remains to be seen.

With regard to Ita Airways, it does not seem to be the case that the EU Commission simply wants to wave the transaction through. It is looming that numerous conditions will be imposed that could potentially lead to the deal falling through. Nevertheless, Lufthansa is confident and expects approval this year. We are already preparing for the integration that we are aiming for next year.