UK Competition Commission could force Ryanair to reduce Aer Lingus stake

Ryanair faces having to reduce its shareholding in Aer Lingus after the UK Competition Commission (CC) provisionally decided that its 29.8% stake could reduce competition on routes between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. In a summary of its provisional findings, published today, the CC has concluded that the shareholding gives Ryanair the ability to influence the commercial policy and strategy of Aer Lingus, its main competitor on these routes. The CC has provisionally found that, against a background of consolidation in the airline industry, Ryanair’s shareholding obstructs Aer Lingus’s ability to merge or combine with another airline to