EC approves Lufthansa's takeover of British Midland

Lufthansa’s takeover of British Midland was approved by the European Commission today.

A routine inquiry decided the merging of the two operators’ services would not significantly impede fair competition in the airline sector in Europe.

A Commission statement said Lufthansa and British Midland (bmi) already co-operated on many air routes, as both were members of Star Alliance, an airline network set up in 1997.

Lufthansa operates mainly from Frankfurt and Munich airports, while bmi operates from Heathrow and a number of regional airports through its subsidiary companies.

“The Commission’s investigation showed that Lufthansa would be unlikely to start operating flights on those routes on which it currently only markets flights operated by bmi, and vice versa.” said a Commission statement.

“The Commission therefore concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition on any of these routes. The same conclusion was reached for all other routes where the parties currently do not co-operate, as the combined entity would continue to face sufficient competition on these routes.”