It has been apparent for several months now that the EU Commission may not approve Lufthansa's entry into Ita Airways, which is expected to result in a complete takeover in several steps, without considerable conditions. The competition authority is now inviting competitors to comment. 

Only recently various unions have one Appeal addressed to the European competition authorities, which, to put it simply, called for the deal to be waved through as quickly as possible and with as few conditions as possible. The background is that before Lufthansa officially registered, a kind of preliminary procedure was carried out and it was leaked that the EU Commission could impose considerable requirements. For example, the surrender of take-off and landing rights in transatlantic traffic from Germany, but also at the Italian airports Rome-Fiumicino and Milan-Linate on short-haul routes, was mentioned. Traffic between Italy and Germany and Italy and Switzerland in particular appears to be under close scrutiny, as there is little or no competition on some routes. 

There are also a total of six routes on which there is no competition at all. These are linked to the Ita hubs Milan-Linate and Rome-Fiumicino as well as the Lufthansa hubs Frankfurt and Munich and the Swiss hub Zurich. These routes appear to be under particular attention from the EU Commission. However, it is questionable whether there are any other airlines that are interested in flying on these routes, which are already frequently used by those connecting. 

The EU Commission officially announced that it assumes that, after preliminary examination, the proposed deal could fall under the so-called Merger Control Regulation. Therefore, competitors have now been given the opportunity to comment. They can submit their statements, primarily objections, to the authority in Brussels by December 18, 2024. 

The competition watchdogs must announce by January 15, 2024 whether Lufthansa's entry into Ita Airways will be approved - possibly subject to conditions - or whether an in-depth review procedure will be initiated. This would have a deadline of three months. Most recently, the Italian carrier, which is considered to be in a weak financial position, was provided with a kind of bridging loan by the Italian government. 

Lufthansa initially intends to enter as a minority shareholder with 41 percent. The plan is to increase this to 2025 percent in 90 if Ita Airways succeeds in making it profitable. The aim is for full takeover by 2033. The prerequisite for this is that economic goals agreed with the Italian government as the seller are achieved. The takeover model is based on that of Brussels Airlines, because here too Lufthansa initially entered with a minority and gradually increased the share to 100 percent.