The European Competition Commission, led by Margrethe Vestager, has approved the merger between the South Korean carrier Korean Air and the Asiana Airlines. This is the 13th approval by a guarantor authority out of the 14 needed to make the 1.2 billion euro purchase and sale agreement, signed in 2020, effective. The green light from the United States is awaited.

"With the approval obtained from Europe, Korean Air continues to focus on its discussions with the US competition authority to finalize the overall merger review process as soon as possible", said the company in a statement. 

To obtain the green light from Brussels, the national airline Korean Air agreed to sell the cargo division of Asiana and to hand over to the South Korean airline T'way Air some airport slots which allow it to operate flights to four European cities: Barcelona, Paris, Rome and Frankfurt. A series of remedies considered effective to ensure fair competition in the Old Continent market, avoiding the creation of monopolies.

On the same topic, see also the article published by AVIONEWS.