ECJ confirms air freight cartel ruling

In a landmark ruling, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on February 26, 2026, largely dismissed the appeals of several airlines in the lengthy air freight cartel case C-367/22 P. This confirmed the high fines imposed by the European Commission in 2017 and clarified the EU’s jurisdiction over air freight services.

The Commission found that between 1999 and 2006, there was a coordinated approach to setting fuel and security surcharges, as well as a refusal to pay commissions on these surcharges. This constituted an ongoing violation of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), Article 53 of the EEA Agreement, and Article 8 of the Air Transport Agreement between the EU and Switzerland. Lufthansa received immunity under the whistleblower program.

The confirmed fines particularly affect the airlines Air France-KLM (€310 million – Air France €183 million and KLM €127 million), British Airways (€104 million), Lufthansa (€79 million), which had hoped for a reduction in the penalty as a whistleblower, Singapore Airlines (€74 million), Cargolux (€79 million), Cathay Pacific (€57 million), Japan Airlines (€35 million), Martinair (€29 million), Air Canada (€21 million), and LATAM/Lan Cargo (€8 million).

The SAS Cargo Group was the only airline to receive a substantial adjustment to its fine (from €70 million to €63 million). The ECJ found that the General Court had made errors in recalculating the fine, particularly in assessing the revenue components. The ruling was therefore partially annulled and the fine reduced accordingly.

Furthermore, the ECJ confirmed that EU competition law also applies to air freight services when the behavior has foreseeable, direct, and significant effects within the European Economic Area (EEA). With the broad dismissal of the appeals, the ruling marks the definitive end of one of the most significant cartel cases in the aviation sector at the EU level.

www.curia.europa.eu