IAG has been told its proposed concessions for the takeover of bmi are likely to be rejected by the European Commission.
The airline group, formed through the merger of British Airways and Spain’s Iberia, has offered to give up some take-off and landing slots at Heathrow airport in a bid to get quick regulatory approval for its purchase of Lufthansa owned bmi.
But IAG’s lawyers have been told it is unlikely to be enough to satisfy Brussels’ competition concerns, reports the Financial Times.
The deadline for an initial Commission decision has been extended to 30 March.
IAG has offered up to £172.5m for bmi which would increase IAG’s share of slots at Heathrow from 44.8 per cent to 53.5 per cent.
The Office of Fair Trading said last week that it would work closely with the European Commission to look at whether the deal posed competition concerns for domestic passengers from other airports in the UK as well as those travelling from Heathrow.
It said the Commission has "extensive expertise" in handling airline mergers, including the merger of British Airways and Iberia in 2010 and the tie up between BMI International and Lufthansa, see previous story.
A deal to sell budget airline bmibaby, which is celebrating its 10th birthday this month, is expected in the next few weeks.
