On March 1, the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) granted approval for the merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines.
The approval of business competition authorities from the E.U., Japan and the U.S. are still pending.
Korean Air submitted remedies to the CMA on November 28, 2021, which were accepted, and the CMA then extended the review period until March 23, 2022.
The European Commission began its review on January 16 after two years of pre-consultation and is currently in the second phase of review.
The U.S. competition authorities are taking more time to review the merger, while Korean Air is in a preliminary consultation phase with the Japan Fair Trade Commission.
Korean Air has reported its business combination to a total of 14 competition authorities since January 2021, with 11 countries, including the U.K., either approving the merger or concluding that it was not subject to review or report.
Korean Air will continue to cooperate with all authorities to obtain approvals at the earliest possible time.
