EU approves Lufthansa-Swiss Air deal

The European Union today gave the go ahead for Lufthansa AG to proceed with its $374.7-million takeover of Swiss International Airlines. Their approval follows recent clearance by US antitrust regulators.

Company officials said the deal’s approval, which is conditional upon the carriers surrendering slots at several airports, including hubs in Zurich and Frankfurt, would put the takeover on track for completion by 2006 at the earliest.

The terms of the approval mean both airlines giving up slots at Munich, Duesseldorf, Vienna, Stockholm and Copenhagen.

Lufthansa spokeswoman Christine Ritz, said "At the moment, we don’t have to give up the slots. It’s only if there’s a new entrant or if there are no slots available. Right now, we’re still flying on all these destinations.”