European Airlines welcome new air cargo guidelines from the European Commission
Airlines for Europe (A4E) and European Regions Airline Associations (ERA) have welcomed the new “Facilitating Air Cargo Operations during COVID-19 outbreak” guidelines issued by the European Commission. The guidelines provide member states with clear indications on how to ensure that the air freight sector continues to operate despite the health measures in place to limit […]
UPS right to defence infringed in failed TNT deal
The European Commission’s decision to prohibit UPS’s acquisition of TNT Express must be annulled due to procedural irregularity, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled. On 30 January 2013, the European Commission prohibited the acquisition of TNT Express by UPS, saying it would lead to a significant impediment to effective competition in […]
Why 2018 has been about ATC delays and flight cancellations in Europe
Air cargo operators will know that 2018 is shaping up to be one of the worst years on record for European air traffic control delays and flight cancellations in nearly a decade. Eurocontrol has revealed that ATC capacity and staff shortages led to a 50 per cent increase in delayed flights in October compared to […]
UPS seeks damages from European Commission for blocked TNT deal
UPS is seeking €1.7 billion of compensation from the European Commission for blocking its takeover bid of TNT in 2013. The European Commission blocked the deal in January 2013 saying it would restrict competition in 15 member states, stating that in many countries the only alternative would be DHL. Since then, FedEx has taken over […]
European court upholds €169m of cartel fines for freight forwarders
The Court of Justice of the European Union has upheld €169 million of fines given to freight forwarders for participating in an air cargo cartel. The European Commission had imposed the fines on 28 March 2012 against a number of companies for participating in the cartel between 2002 and 2007 for services including the organisation […]
European Commission pushes for rules on using drones
The European Commission is making a fresh push to speed up the implementation of European Union (EU) wide rules for the use of drones. It says there were more than 1,200 safety occurrences including near misses between drones and aircrafts reported in Europe in 2016, underlying the need for a modern and flexible EU regulatory […]
Airlines appeal European Commission price fixing cartel fine
The airlines who were fined a total of €776 million ($904 million) by the European Commission (EC) for operating a price fixing cartel are appealing the decision. In March 2017, the EC re-adopted the cartel decision against 11 carriers after the original decision was annulled by the General Court on procedural grounds. Singapore Airlines, LATAM […]
European Commission re-adopts air cartel decision
The European Commission has readopted a decision against air cargo carriers over a price-fixing cartel made in 2015, including Cargolux and 10 other carriers. In December 2015, the General Court of the European Union annulled the Commission’s 2010 decision in its entirety, including the annulment of the €79.9 million fine previously imposed on Cargolux. The […]
Decision to block UPS-TNT merger annulled
The decision to block the merger of UPS and TNT has been annulled by the General Court of the European Union due to “a procedural irregularity”. UPS notified the European Commission of its intention to buy TNT in 2012 under the Merger Regulation but the move was blocked on 30 January 2013 as it was […]
TAPA pushes for more secure truck parking to reduce supply chain losses
Plans to reduce supply chain losses through increasing the number of secure parking locations for trucks and drivers have been presented to the European Commission by the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA). The association outlined its plan to launch a ‘robust secure parking programme’ in the first half of 2017 to address concerns about the number […]
European Union UCC causing concern, BIFA says
The British International Freight Association (BIFA) says the HMRC is placing ever-increasing emphasis on compliance, with stricter enforcement being an inevitable outcome. BIFA says it constantly explains to its members of the risks they run when undertaking certain types of business and the need to comply with regulation. One area that is causing considerable concern is […]
‘Contradictory’ price fixing cartel fine overturned
Fines of 790 million euros ($868 million) imposed by the European Commission against airlines for fixing fuel and security surcharges has been overturned, as the decision was ‘contradictory’. In 2010, the commission had fined Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cargolux, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, LATAM Airlines Group, Martinair, Qantas, SAS Cargo and Singapore Airlines […]
EU clears HNA’s Swissport deal
The European Commission has cleared the acquisition of Swissport by China’s HNA Group as part of a 2.7 billion Swiss francs ($2.8 billion) deal. On Thursday 18 November, the Commission explains the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns because the companies’ activities do not overlap each other. The deal is expected to help the […]
FedEx takeover of TNT clears European hurdle
FEDEX is set to be given the go ahead by the European Commission for its 4.4 billion euro ($4.8 billion) takeover of Dutch courier delivery firm TNT Express. The deadline for the commission to issue any antitrust objections to the merger was Friday, 23 October, but both companies say they have not received any from […]
