European Commission okays acquisition of Aer Lingus by IAG, with conditions

The European Commission on Tuesday authorised the takeover of Irish airline Aer Lingus by the International Airlines Group (IAG), while setting conditions aimed at addressing concerns over competition, a statement said.

"The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Irish airline Aer Lingus by International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG)," it said.

The takeover is "conditional upon commitments offered by the parties" after the Commission expressed concerns over insufficient competition, it said.

"The merged entity would have prevented Aer Lingus from continuing to provide traffic to the long-haul flights of competing airlines on several routes," the statement added.

The approval comes after Ireland's low-cost carrier Ryanair on Friday finally accepted the bid by IAG, parent of British Airways and Iberia, for a near 30-percent stake in rival Aer Lingus.

siu-ser/ri