Airlines may face multi-million Euro cartel fines

Air France-KLM Group, British Airways and a handful of other carriers may face multimillion antitrust fines from EU regulators within weeks after attempts to broker a settlement failed.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is seeking to re-impose penalties of nearly €800m for a cargo cartel thrown out on procedural grounds by an EU court in 2015.

The final amount of the fines could differ slightly from those imposed earlier. Many of the airlines hoped to reach a settlement to limit follow-on lawsuits from customers and avoid more court fights with the EU, the sources said.