Ireland’s Aer Lingus will today lodge its planned legal appeal aimed at forcing budget operator Ryanair to sell its share in the flag-carrier.
Aer Lingus is to put its appeal to the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg.
It follows the European Commission’s admission last month that it did not have the legal power to force the sale of Ryanair’s stake of around 30% in Aer Lingus.
Aer Lingus claims, however, that the Commission does have such authority because Ryanair’s shareholding was acquired as part of a prohibited takeover attempt.
As part of its appeal Aer Lingus is also seeking an order preventing Ryanair from “interfering” with the airline’s business pending a judgement.
“It is our intention to deal with the presence of Ryanair on our shareholder register decisively through short-term interim measures, as well as seeking a speedy permanent resolution from the Court of First Instance,” says Aer Lingus chairman John Sharman.
Having been stopped by the Commission from taking over Aer Lingus, Ryanair in September also put an appeal before the Court of First Instance in a bid to overturn the decision.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
