Ryanair is to appeal a decision by a UK court that it must cut down its 29 per cent stake in Aer Lingus.
The Irish airline said it would now take its appeal to the Supreme Court as it “raises human rights issues of significant public importance”.
In 2013, the UK’s Competition Commission (now the CMA) ruled that Ryanair’s minority shareholding in Aer Lingus reduced competition between the airlines on routes between the UK and Ireland and ordered the carrier to cut its stake by 5 per cent.
It said Ryanair had the “ability to influence the commercial policy and strategy of Aer Lingus”.
In its final report the CMA said that Ryanair’s 29 per cent stake would deter other airlines from merging with or bidding for Aer Lingus.
In a statement Ryanair called for a formal review into the report and said IAG’s recent offers “demonstrate CMA’s findings were wrong”.
“The IAG offers for Aer Lingus wholly disprove the CMA’s unsubstantiated claim that Ryanair’s shareholding somehow prevented other airlines from merging with or bidding for Aer Lingus,” said Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, Robin Kiely.
“Clearly the CMA’s case has now been totally undermined by the IAG offers,” he added.