Germany‘s Lufthansa and Italian rival ITA will offer to cede 11 pairs of slots a day at Milan‘s Linate airport in order to secure the EU’s green light for their proposed tie-up, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on Sunday.
The German carrier is looking to acquire a 41 per cent stake in state-owned ITA – Alitalia‘s successor – but has so far failed to persuade EU competition regulators to clear the bid.
On Friday, the Italian economy minister said the two airlines would propose further remedies after Lufthansa’s latest proposals were rejected by the Commission as insufficient.
In Paris around 75 percent of flights at Orly and 55 percent at Charles de Gaulle airport will be dropped Thursday, the DGAC civil aviation authority told airlines in a notification seen by AFP on Wednesday. Around 65 per cent of services at Marseille airport and 45 per cent elsewhere in France will also be cancelled, it added. The impact is expected to be similar to the cancellations expected when the strike was still going ahead.
The carriers are willing to give up 22 flights, to and from the Milan airport – where ITA is seen to have a dominant position – and are already in advanced negotiations with Easyjet to take those slots, the report added, citing four EU sources and reporting no comments from the companies involved. By giving up the slots, currently held by Lufthansa, the new combined entity would not increase its total market share but this would remain between 60-62 per cent , Corriere added.
