UK watchdog halts Ryanair investigation

Britain's Office of Fair Trading has suspended an investigation into Ryanair's shareholding in rival Aer Lingus to allow a court of appeal to rule on whether the watchdog still had jurisdiction in the case.

Ryanair has challenged the OFT's investigation on the grounds that the investigation into the shareholding was "out of time".

The airline bought a stake in Aer Lingus in 2006, but the OFT's investigation came four years after the share purchase was completed.

It took the decision to investigate the deal after the European General Court confirmed that the European Commission does not have the power to force Ryanair to sell down its minority shareholding because the stake did not confer it with “decisive influence” on the commercial policy of its rival.

Ryanair said the UK court ordered the stay on the investigation yesterday, and it will be suspended until the Court of Appeal rules on the "out of time" issue, following a full hearing of the case scheduled for mid-2012.