Ryanair blocked from Aer Lingus takeover
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Ryanair has been blocked from taking over Aer Lingus for the third time.
The low-cost carrier said it believed the European Commission’s move was a “political decision” in light of IAG’s takeover of bmi although many in the travel industry had raised concerns over potential limited competition if the takeover was to go ahead.
The low-cost carrier had made moves to help the deal pass including preliminary deals with IAG and Flybe to take over any routes that may overlap.
“Ryanair was notified this [Tuesday] morning at a state-of-play meeting with the EU Commission, that the EU Commission intends to prohibit Ryanair’s offer for Aer Lingus, despite the fact that Ryanair has met every competition concern raised in the EU’s statement of objections and during the review process,” its statement read.
The airline is now appealing in the European Courts but has failed an AerLingus merger twice before.
“It appears clear from this morning’s meeting, that no matter what remedies Ryanair offered, we were not going to get a fair hearing and were going to be prohibited regardless of competition rules,” added Robin Kiely from Ryanair.
