The EU Commission is extending the review process of the planned takeover of Air Europa by the International Airlines Group by 20 working days. The deadline now runs until December 3, 2021, announced the competition authorities.

Originally, the IAG wanted to pay around one billion euros for the Spanish competitor, but the purchase price was renegotiated due to the corona pandemic. The Iberia parent company is currently offering around 500 million euros for Air Europa. It is planned that the carrier will be incorporated into Iberia.

In order to favor the EU Commission, slots have already been given in Madrid and Barcelona. These are take-off and land rights from Iberia, which switched to Volotea and World2Fly, among others. The competition watchdog wants to examine the planned transaction in more depth, as they fear negative effects on prices in national and international traffic to / from Spain. It is currently suspected that the IAG will have to make further concessions.