Aer Lingus Group: Court of Appeal rejects Ryanair's challenge to the Competition Appeal Tribunal's judgment

Aer Lingus welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Appeal rejecting the challenge Ryanair brought against the judgment of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”).

In March 2014, the CAT dismissed Ryanair’s appeal against the UK Competition Commission’s (“CC”) Report that ruled Ryanair’s shareholding in Aer Lingus to be anti-competitive and required it to sell down its 29.82% stake in Aer Lingus to 5%. The Report also limits Ryanair’s ability to re-acquire shares.

Ryanair appealed the CAT’s judgment on a number of grounds, all of which have been rejected in today’s ruling. The Court also refused permission for Ryanair to appeal to the Supreme Court.

This is the third time that the Court of Appeal has rejected Ryanair’s attempts to derail the UK competition authorities’ investigations and findings.