Chile’s Antitrust Court approves LAN and TAM merger

LAN Airlines announced (21-Sep-2011) Chile's antitrust court, Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia (TDLC), approved the merger between LAN and TAM, but will require the companies to implement additional mitigation measures. The TDLC's approval was the last major hurdle for the merger in Chile, although a ruling from Brazil's top antitrust regulator, CADE, is pending, according to wire reports.

The 11 mitigation measures the TDLC is requiring include "exchanging four pairs of daily slots" at the Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo with other "airlines that are interested in starting or increasing regular air transport service on the Santiago-Sao Paulo route", the court said. [more - original PR from LAN]