Austrian airline Niki said Wednesday that it would stop flying from Thursday after German giant Lufthansa gave up plans to buy it from bankrupt Air Berlin in the face of EU competition concerns.
Niki said earlier that it had applied to open insolvency proceedings following Lufthansa’s announcement that it had “informed Air Berlin and its insolvency managers that it will pursue the planned transaction without the purchase of Niki.”
The decision came after the European Commission said last week that it had “deep competition concerns” about the Frankfurt-based carrier’s plan to buy of 81 aircraft from Air Berlin’s 140-plane fleet plus Niki for 210 million euros ($250 million).
Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest carrier, triggered ban…
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