The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) on Tuesday (February 5) announced its conditional approval for the proposed merger between Air India and Vistara, more than a year after the deal was initially unveiled.
The merger, which was disclosed in November 2022, involves Singapore Airlines acquiring a 25.1% stake in Air India.
Vistara is a joint venture between Singapore Airlines and Tata Group and is set to merge with Air India under this agreement. CCCS, in the latest development, granted its conditional approval after receiving commitments from Air India, Singapore Airlines, and Vistara to address potential anti-competition concerns.
Approval on key routes
The approved commitments specifically relate to scheduled air passenger transport services on key routes such as Singapore-Mumbai (SIN-BOM), Singapore-Delhi (SIN-DEL), Singapore-Chennai (SIN-MAA), and Singapore-Tiruchirappalli (SIN-TRZ).
The parties have pledged to maintain capacity on these routes at pre-pandemic levels (calendar year 2019), as outlined in a release by CCCS.
Furthermore, a spokesperson for Singapore Airlines welcomed the decision of granting approval and noted that the proposed merger is progressing, pending foreign direct investment and other regulatory approvals.