Dear flights, under investigation by Antitrust Wizzair, Ita, Easyjet and Ryanair

The Antitrust wants to get to the bottom of the high flight prices in Sicily, and following the complaint filed by Codacons last December 13, has opened an investigation against the main airlines for possible restrictive competition agreement.

Ne gives the Codacons Sicily news, the only association to have filed the complaint used by the Authority to initiate investigations. In the measure, the Antitrust, accepting the theses advanced by Codacons, speaks of possible “restrictive agreement of competition in the passenger air transport market, with particular reference to “economy” class flights on routes defined by origin-destination pairs at either end of which there are, on the one hand, Palermo or Catania, and on the other, one of the following cities in Central or Northern Italy: Rome (Fiumicino and Ciampino), Milan (including Malpensa, Linate, and Orio al Serio), Turin, and Bologna, in violation of Article 101 TFEU”.

In particular, Codacons reported alleged distortions of competition resulting from the increase in airfare prices on routes connecting the major Italian cities (Rome, Bologna, Turin, and Milan) and Sicily during the Christmas holidays.

Ryanair, ITA Airways, Wizz Air, and EasyJet are the main airlines offering domestic air services to Sicily, with the number of flights operated varying from route to route but, with reference to the most relevant routes (such as Milan/Palermo and Milan/Catania and Rome/Palermo, and Rome/Catania), it can reach up to 20 flights per route per day.

For the Antitrust, as stated in the measure, what was reported appears to be “worthy of further investigation, in order to ascertain the existence of possible distortions of the proper functioning of competition mechanisms, in violation of Article 101 TFEU”.

Such distortions, as they impact a particularly important economic variable, which is price, would be particularly serious, especially in the current crisis phase, difficult for consumers, and reducing the purchasing power of family incomes.

Pubblicato in Flights and Airlines, TravelNews