Korean Air announced that the European Commission has given its final approval for its proposed merger with Asiana Airlines.

The South Korean flag carrier said it has satisfied all conditions set by the European Union competition authority for its merger with Asiana Airlines.

The European Commission (EC) announced on November 28 that it had concluded its review after confirming Korean Air's fulfilment of all required conditions for the merger.

In February 2024, the EC granted conditional approval subject to two key requirements: ensuring stable operations of a remedy carrier on four overlapping European routes (Barcelona, Frankfurt, Paris and Rome) and the divestiture of Asiana's freighter business.

Korean Air has designated T'way Air as the remedy carrier for the European routes, and it has committed to providing operational support, including aircraft, flight crew, and maintenance services.

Air Incheon has also been earlier approved as the purchaser of Asiana Airlines' freighter business. The business will be sold for KRW 470 billion won (US$342 million) in a deal that will likely make Air Incheon, a relatively smaller cargo airline, South Korea's second-biggest freight carrier.

Korean Air said it has submitted the European Commission's final approval to the US Department of Justice and plans to complete the transaction by December 2024.