The EU wants to introduce stricter rules for airline mergers with the aim of ensuring fair competition, writes the Financial Times, referring to statements from the EU's new Competition Commissioner Didier Reynders.

To gain competition approval, airlines often offer to give back takeoff and landing slots, but there is evidence that this does not always work, according to the article. Among other things, the returned slots have not always been used and thus have not promoted competition.

The EU will now require airlines to guarantee that slots they give up as part of regulatory approvals are given to competitors on competitive routes. In some cases, airlines may also be required to sell assets that are not considered core to passenger flights, such as cargo operations or ground handling contracts.

A wave of consolidation in the airline industry has taken place in the wake of the pandemic. The article mentions, among other things, Air France-KLM's entry into SAS, Lufthansa's acquisition of 41 percent in Italy's ITA Airways, and IAG's acquisition of the remaining stake in Spain's Air Europa.

Source: Dagens Industri