The European Commission (EC) says it has re-adopted a cartel decision against eleven air cargo carriers and imposed a fine totaling EUR776.465 million (USD834.079 million) for operating a price–fixing cartel.
In November 2010, the EC found Air Canada, Air France-KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, British Airways, Cargolux, Cathay Pacific, JAL - Japan Airlines, LAN Airlines (now LATAM Airlines), Martinair (Netherlands), Qantas, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, and Singapore Airlines guilty of conspiring to inflate the price of shipping goods by air by manipulating their fuel and security surcharges between December 1999 and February 2006. Lufthansa and its subsidiaries Swiss and Lufthansa Cargo were granted immunity for being the first to cooperate with the EC investigation into the cartel's activities.
The ruling was, however, overturned by the General Court of the European Union (GCEU) in December 2015 after it found a "contradiction" and “inconsistencies” in the way the EC had pursued its case and ruling. However, it did not rule on the existence of the cartel.
As such, the EC maintains that these air cargo carriers participated in a price-fixing cartel and is adopting a new decision in addition to 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," a statement issued Friday, March 17, said.
The reinstated pecuniary sanctions have remained unchanged for all the affected airlines. The highest, Air France, was fined EUR182.9 million (USD196.4 million) followed by KLM at EUR127.1 million (USD136.53 million), British Airways at EUR104.4 million (USD112.14 million), Cargolux at EUR79.9 million (USD85.8 million), and Singapore Airlines at EUR74.8 million (USD80.35 million).
