EU Commission Approves IAG Takeover Of Aer Lingus

IAG has gained European Union antitrust approval for its EUR€1.3 billion (USD$1.4 billion) bid for Irish carrier Aer Lingus after agreeing to concessions to ease competition concerns.

IAG's plan to buy Aer Lingus and build a new transatlantic hub at Dublin airport won the support last week of Ryanair, which has a 30 percent stake in its rival, after convincing the Irish government to sell its 25 percent stake in May.

"These commitments adequately address all competition concerns identified by the Commission," the EC said in a statement.

The Commission said it had concerns that the merged entity would have faced insufficient competition on several routes and that it would have also prevented Aer Lingus from continuing to provide traffic to the long-haul flights of competing airlines.

It confirmed on Tuesday that IAG had submitted commitments to release five daily slots at London's Gatwick airport to facilitate the entry of competing airlines on routes from London to Dublin and Belfast.

IAG also made a commitment to enter into agreements with competing airlines which operate long-haul flights out of Britain, the Netherlands and Ireland so that Aer Lingus will continue to provide these airlines with connecting passengers.

Ireland's transport minister welcomed the decision and said officials would review it in order to confirm that there is no impact on the connectivity commitments the government agreed with IAG to win gain MP's approval.

Adding Aer Lingus to its portfolio of airlines - British Airways, Iberia and Vueling - opens a new avenue of growth for IAG, allowing it to expand capacity on transatlantic routes by using Dublin Airport.