EU anti-trust regulators have blocked for now Lufthansa's planned minority stake in the Italian airline ITA Airways after a preliminary investigation showed the deal could reduce competition on some routes, the European Commission said on Tuesday.
The commission said there is only limited competition from other airlines on non-stop routes to and from some Central European destinations.
ITA was formed in 2020 after a restructuring of the failed carrier Alitalia, which the government in Rome took over in March of the same year when various takeover bids failed.
After months of negotiations, Germany's Lufthansa Group agreed with the Italian state last May to take over a minority stake of 41%.
According to the agreement, Lufthansa can also acquire a further 49% of ITA shares from 2025 under certain conditions and the remaining 10% at a later date.
Since its announcement, the deal between Lufthansa and the Italian state been subject to regulatory reviews at the national and European level.
Lufthansa said recently it had already made concessions to EU regulators and that it was was in close dialogue with all parties involved.
