The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced its decision to clear Korean Air’s acquisition of Asiana Airlines (Asiana) after conducting market consultation on the Korean Air-Asiana Airlines merger with interested parties.

The ACCC has expressed that while Korean Air and Asiana are currently the only providers of direct flights between Sydney and Seoul, Qantas and Jetstar will shortly commence services on this route, allowing for effective competition.

“We consider that the Qantas Group offering flights on the Sydney to Seoul route with both its full-service and low-cost carriers means that there is likely to be effective competition,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.

Korean Air expects the Australian competition authority’s clearance to facilitate and expedite the remaining approval processes.

Since the airline submitted business combination reports to the nine countries that require reporting on January 14, 2021, Korean Air has received approval from Korea, Turkey, Taiwan and Vietnam. The Thailand Competition Commission announced that submission of a business combination report was not necessary.

From countries where reporting is arbitrary, Korean Air has also received clearance from Singapore and Malaysia. The Philippines has confirmed that the business combination report was not necessary.

In order to finalize the acquisition process, Korean Air will continue to proactively communicate and cooperate with the remaining regulatory bodies where reporting is required, including the United States, the European Union, China and Japan, as well as the United Kingdom, where reporting is arbitrary.