Lufthansa to gain EU approval for Air Berlin unit LGW acquisition: Sources

Lufthansa is set to secure EU antitrust approval for its acquisition of insolvent Air Berlin's subsidiary LGW after agreeing to give up some Dusseldorf airport slots and not seek new ones, 2 people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. The carrier originally wanted to buy Niki as well, but scrapped the plan last week after the EC indicated it would veto the deal. That had already led to the grounding of Niki, the latest casualty in the aviation industry this year after the demise of Monarch and Air Berlin. Alitalia has also filed for insolvency protection. The EC, which is scheduled to rule on the LGW deal by Dec 21, declined to comment. Lufthansa also declined to comment. LGW is a regional carrier which flew turboprop planes under a wet lease deal for Air Berlin. It is flying under a wet lease contract for Eurowings. <br/>