Ita, Lufthansa and Mef extend flight cuts offered to EU for divestment start
Proposed relinquishment of up to 17 slot pairs at Linate and ten at Rome
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Key points
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Lufthansa and the Ministry of Economy have proposed new sacrifices to the EU to save the agreement to sell the Italian company to the German carrier. In the never-ending correspondence between Rome, Frankfurt and Brussels, a new letter with further cuts in flights and routes has been issued to appease the firmness of the Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager.
The problem of Linate
.The hottest chapter in the confrontation with the EU antitrust authority concerns flights to Europe from Milan Linate. In the latest 'remedy offer' package, i.e., the offer of sacrifices, Lufthansa as buyer and the Mef as seller - confirm authoritative sources familiar with the dossier - declare themselves willing to sacrifice at least 15-17 daily slot pairs held by Ita at the Milan airport, i.e., 15-17 pairs of hourly windows entitling them to make 15-17 landings and as many take-offs, or from 30 to 34 aircraft movements. The Mef has made no official statement.
The cut is 10% of daily air movements
.Previously, Lufthansa together with the Mef had put on the negotiating table a reduction of 11 slot pairs at Ita, entitling 11 landings and the same number of take-offs, i.e. 22 air movements, corresponding to 11 daily frequencies from the Milan airport. This is therefore a 50 per cent increase in the sacrifices offered, corresponding to about 10 per cent of the maximum daily air movements allowed at Linate. Traffic at the airport is restricted and no more than 18 movements per hour are allowed.
Sacrifices at Fiumicino
.Some sacrifices are also expected at Rome Fiumicino. According to rumours, Lufthansa and Mef would give up around ten slot pairs at Italy's main airport. At Rome there is no congestion problem as at Linate, but overlapping slots between the two companies would be eliminated.
Flights to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium
.The space that would be freed up by giving up these slots would be used to open up to competitors the routes between Italy and central Europe, in particular from Linate and Rome to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium, i.e. the countries where Lufthansa is dominant either directly or through its subsidiaries Austrian, Swiss, Sn Brussels.
