Ryanair has been ordered to sell the majority of its shares in Aer Lingus.
Britain’s competition watchdog has expressed concern about the low cost airline’s 29 per cent stake in Aer Lingus – and wants Ryanair to sell enough shares so that it owns just five per cent of the former national flag carrier.
A report from the Competition Commission found that the shareholding could lead to a substantial reduction in competition on flights between Ireland and the UK, as well as higher ticket prices.
Responding to that decision – Ryanair says it will appeal the UK Competition Commission report – saying it ‘wrongly’ found that Ryanair’s shareholding had affected competition.
The airline said the ‘baseless’ claim was manifestly disproven by seven years of evidence – and was backed by the European Commission’s recent ruling that competition between Ryanair and Aer Lingus has "intensified" since 2007.
Ryanair goes on to say that under EU law, the UKCC has a duty of cooperation with the EU, and cannot contradict or reach different conclusions to the European Commission’s findings.
