An adviser to Europe's highest court has recommended that it reject 13 appeals from airlines challenging air freight cartel fines imposed by the European Commission in 2017.

In his non-binding opinion on September 5, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos mostly sided with the EU antitrust watchdog when he proposed that the Court of Justice of the European Union dismiss the appeals the airlines had lodged.

The cartel allegedly operated from December 7, 1999, to February 14, 2006, and involved coordinated practices in airfreight services. It involved:

  • a fuel surcharge: Introduction and management of a surcharge to offset rising fuel costs;
  • a security surcharge: Implementation of a surcharge to cover expenses related to new security measures after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; and
  • refusal to pay commission: A decision not to pay commissions on these surcharges.

Investigations began in 2005, resulting in the European Commission's initial decision on November 9, 2010, to impose fines of EUR790 million euros (USD878 million) on eleven global airlines under EU and European Economic Area (EEA) competition laws and the EC-Switzerland Air Transport Agreement. Lufthansa and Swiss received immunity from the fines after they provided information about the cartel.

The penalties against Martinair (Netherlands), JAL - Japan Airlines, Air France-KLM, Cathay Pacific, LATAM Airlines, Qantas, Air Canada, Cargolux, and British Airways were later reduced after they cooperated with the investigation. All but Qantas challenged the decision before the European Union General Court, which annulled the Commission's decision in December 2015 on procedural grounds. The European Commission reopened the case and, on March 17, 2017, reimposed fines totalling EUR776 million (USD862 million) on 19 carriers, including the appellants. The airlines' subsequent challenges were dismissed by the General Court in 2022, leading them to appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The current appellants and cases include Air Canada (C-367/22 P), Air France (C-369/22 P), Air France-KLM (C-370/22 P), LATAM Airlines Group and LATAM Cargo Chile (C-375/22 P), British Airways (C-378/22 P), Singapore Airlines and Singapore Airlines Cargo (C-379/22 P), Lufthansa and others (C-380/22 P), JAL (C-381/22 P), Cathay Pacific (C-382/22 P), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (C-385/22 P), Martinair (C-386/22 P), and Cargolux (C-401/22 P). Rantos also proposed the court set aside the General Court judgement of March 30, 2022, relating to SAS Scandinavian Airlines Cargo Group (T-324/17,EU:T:2022:175), which appealed for a reduction of its fine.