Monitoring Trustee case in Case No COMP M.6447 IAG/bmi

Forvis Mazars LLP is the Monitoring Trustee (“Trustee”) for the monitoring of the commitments given by International Consolidated Airlines Group, S.A. (IAG) (the “Commitments”) to the European Commission (“Commission”) in relation to its acquisition of British Midland Limited (bmi) on 30 March 2012 (Case No COMP/M.6447).

The Commitments and other case related information can be downloaded directly from the Commission’s case page here.

Following Commission Decision (EU) 2024/1665 of 12 June 2024, the enforcement powers for Case M.6447 were transferred from the Commission to the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) of the United Kingdom on 1 July 2024. [1]

The general responsibilities of the Trustee are set out in section 6 of the Commitments. The Trustee also has specific responsibilities which are set out throughout the Commitments.

Notice of an upcoming Slot Release Procedure for IATA Summer 2025 Season

The information provided below is intended to draw the attention of potential Applicants to certain sections of the Commitments. The Slot Release Procedure launches on 8 August 2024. Under the Commitments, Applicants are entitled to apply for Slots to operate from London Heathrow airport to the following destinations:

Aberdeen;
Edinburgh;
Nice;
Cairo; and
Riyadh.

Slot Release Agreements awarded pursuant to this procedure shall be for operations commencing from the IATA Summer 2025 Season (i.e., 30 March 2025).

Applicants wishing to apply for Slots should request a Slot Release Application Form from the Trustee at the earliest opportunity. Expressions of interest must be submitted to the Trustee on the form provided by no later than 18:00 UK local time on 22 August 2024.

Key dates for the IATA Summer 2024 Slot Release Procedure

22 August 2024 – Deadline for Applicants to submit to the Trustee their Slot Request Application Form, details of its leased out or exchanged Slots at London Heathrow and indications of any claim for anonymity.
26 September 2024 – Deadline for the CMA (advised by the Trustee) to assess whether the Applicant meets the eligibility criteria set out in the definitions of the Commitments.
10 October 2024 –
- Deadline for Applicants to send a request for Slots at the same time(s) as those requested previously to the Slot coordinator in accordance with the General Slot Allocation Procedure; and
- Deadline for Applicants to send the Trustee its Key Terms, business plan and details of any compensation offered.

Further details of the Slot Release Procedure are available from the Trustee. Applicants are requested to contact justin.menezes@mazars.com, stephen.wainwright@steergroup.com, fernanda.salomon@mazars.co.uk, myoori.patel-rivet@mazars.co.uk and ishika.rout@mazars.co.uk to obtain a Slot Request Application Form at the earliest opportunity.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to also contact Airport Coordination Limited (“ACL”) at the earliest opportunity. ACL is responsible for the coordination of Slots, service and infrastructure requirements at London Heathrow airport. In the first instance, Applicants should contact Richard Cann or Ingrid Hainy at ACL, whose details are provided below:

Tel:	+44 (0)20 8564 0600
Fax:	+44 (0)20 8564 0691
Email:	heathrow@acl-uk.org
SITA:	LONACXH
Web Site:	www.acl-uk.org

Contact details:

Monitoring Trustee:

IAG Monitoring Trustee

FAO Fernanda Salomon

Forvis Mazars LLP

30 Old Bailey

London

EC4M 7AU

Tel: +44 (0)7881 283 388

Email: fernanda.salomon@mazars.co.uk

[1] The CMA’s monitoring and enforcement powers in relation to transferred EU commitments are set out under Sections 95A and 95B of the Enterprise Act 2002.