The European Commission has re-adopted its 2010 decision against eleven air cargo carriers, including Cargolux, re-imposing a fine totalling €776 million for operation of a price–fixing cartel between 1999 and 2006. The Commission's original decision was annulled by the General Court on procedural grounds in 2015.Included in the annulment and re-adoption is the €80 million fine previously imposed on Cargolux.
The companies fined in 2010 were Air Canada, Air France-KLM, British Airways, Cargolux, Cathay Pacific Airways, Japan Airlines, LAN Chile, Martinair, Qantas, SAS and Singapore Airlines. A 12th cartel member, Lufthansa, and its subsidiary, Swiss International Air Lines, received full immunity from fines.
All but one of the companies (Qantas) included in the 2010 decision challenged it before the EU's General Court. In December 2015, the General Court annulled the Commission's decision against the eleven cartel members that appealed, concluding that there had been a procedural error. However, it did not rule on the existence of the cartel.
The Commission maintains that these air cargo carriers participated in a price-fixing cartel and is adopting a new decision and re-establishing the fines. This new decision addresses the procedural error identified by the General Court while remaining identical in terms of the anticompetitive behaviours targeted by the Commission. The decision confirms that the Commission will not let cartels go unpunished.
Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “Millions of businesses depend on air cargo services, which carry more than 20% of all EU imports and nearly 30% of EU exports. Working together in a cartel rather than competing to offer better services to customers does not fly with the Commission. Today's decision ensures that companies that were part of the air cargo cartel are sanctioned for their behaviour.”
Cargolux today acknowledged the decision issued today by the European Commission in the airfreight cartel case, noting that the development did not come as a surprise as previous communications from the European Commission had indicated its intention to re-adopt a decision in this case. At this stage Cargolux said that it is reviewing the decision and has not yet decided whether to lodge an application for annulment with the General Court.
Cargolux, however, said that it welcomes the recognition by the Commission that no undertaking should be put in a worse position simply as a result of the errors by the Commission, which were the basis for the annulment of the Commission's 2010 decision.
