The UK's Office of Fair Trading has told Ryanair it believes it can review the airline's acquisition of a stake in Aer Lingus.
The OFT had announced in October that it was investigating whether Ryanair's near 30% holding in its rival gave it the power to influence Aer Lingus's commercial policy and hampered competition.
Ryanair, which made its first failed bid to take over Aer Lingus in 2006, had said the probe was 'out of time' and the OFT no longer had jurisdiction over the matter. Today, Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said the airline had told its lawyers to appeal the decision to the UK's Competition Appeals Tribunal.
Aer Lingus welcomed today's OFT decision.
The OFT said it opened its investigation after the conclusion of appeals of European Commission decisions on the issue.
'The OFT believes that it was unable to act in this matter until these appeals concluded because there was a risk of inconsistent outcomes between any actions taken by the OFT... and any action that the European Courts might require of the European Commission in relation to the minority stake or Ryanair's full bid for Aer Lingus,' it said in a statement.
