Call to reject air cargo cartel fines appeal
06 / 09 / 2024
Photo: Freedomz/ Shutterstock
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) should reject appeals made by airlines against fines issued after they took part in a cartel to fix air cargo prices, according to a CJEU advocate general.
Appeals filed by airlines against the cartel fines imposed by EU antitrust regulators in 2017 should not be granted, said CJEU Advocate General Athanasios Rantos, reported Reuters.
The matter stretches back to 2010, when 11 airlines were fined €799m for operating a price-fixing cargo cartel that affected cargo services within the European Economic area (EEA).
The cartel members coordinated various elements of price for a period of over six years, from December 1999 to February 2006, according to the European Commission.
The airlines originally named by the European Commission in 2010 included Air Canada, Air France-KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Cargolux, Japan Airlines, LAN Chile, Martinair, SAS, Singapore Airlines and Qantas.
Lufthansa (and its subsidiary Swiss) received full immunity from fines under the Commission’s leniency programme, as it was the first to provide information about the cartel.
In 2015, the European Union (EU) General Court annulled the fines totalling nearly €800m imposed by the European Commission against 11 of the airlines for the alleged fixing of airfreight charges, concluding that there had been a procedural error.
However, in 2017 that annulment was overturned by the EC and the fines re-instated, which prompted several airlines to launch appeals.
In March 2022, the EU General Court dismissed the actions brought by Martinair Holland, KLM, Cargolux Airlines, Air France-KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Singapore Airlines Cargo and upheld the fines previously imposed on those companies by the Commission.
However, it slightly reduced the fines against Japan Airlines, Air Canada, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, SAS Cargo Group, Latam Airlines Group and Lan Cargo resulting in reduced fines for those carriers.
The airlines next took their appeal to the CJEU.
In November 2022, Air France obtained the annulment of a €3.9m fine imposed by the Competition Commission on the carrier in December 2013.
Rantos said SAS’ appeal for a cut in its fine should be referred back to the General Court to be reviewed.
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