Breaking News EC approves final merger of Korean Air and Asiana

The four-year merger has effectively reached its completion stage as the European Commission and EC, which were considered the final gateway to the merger of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, finally approved the merger between the two airlines.

The EC announced today that the review will be completed as all prerequisites for the combination of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have been met.

Earlier in February, the EC made a conditional approval decision, putting the stable operation of new entrant airlines on four overlapping European routes and the sale of Asiana Airlines' cargo plane business as a prerequisite for finalizing the approval process.

In response, Korean Air explained that it met the preconditions for conditional approval presented by the EC, such as selecting T'way Air as a new entry airline in the passenger sector and Air Incheon as a buyer of Asiana Airlines' cargo plane business.

Korean Air also said it reported the final approval of the EC to the U.S. Department of Justice, and plans to finalize the final transaction process within this year.

As the U.S. Department of Justice has not filed a separate monopoly lawsuit, it seems that the business combination review has actually been completed.

This effectively concludes the merger process four years after Korean Air announced its acquisition of Asiana Airlines in November 2020.

However, it will take an additional two years for the two airlines to complete the merger, including the organizational integration process.