EU approves remedies package required for Lufthansa's ITA deal

The European Commission said on Friday it had approved a package of remedies proposed for Lufthansa's acquisition of a minority stake in Italy's ITA Airways, in which EasyJet, IAG and Air France-KLM would secure more routes. Lufthansa won EU antitrust approval in July to buy 41% of state-owned ITA, the successor airline to bankrupt Alitalia, for E325m, in a deal designed to boost its presence in the lucrative southern European market. However, Lufthansa and the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance had to make commitments to allow competitors to take up more short- and long-haul flights from Italy and transfer some take-off and landing slots at Milan's Linate Airport. The parties committed to make available assets and transfer slots at Linate so that EasyJet could start short-haul flights from Rome and Milan to certain airports in Central Europe. They also committed to enter into agreements with IAG and Air France-KLM to allow them increased non-stop flights or improved connections for one-stop flights from Italy to North America.<br/>