Judgment of the General Court Fourth Chamber, Extended Composition of 30 March 2022, Singapore Airlines and Singapore Airlines Cargo v Commission, T-350/17

• Date: 30 March 2022
• Year: 2022

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Judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber, Extended Composition) of 30 March

2022, Singapore Airlines and Singapore Airlines Cargo v Commission, T-350/17

Link to the complete text of the judgment

Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Market for airfreight – Decision finding an

infringement of Article 101 TFEU, Article 53 of the EEA Agreement and Article 8 of the Agreement between

the European Community and Switzerland on Air Transport – Coordination of elements of the price of

airfreight services (fuel surcharge, security surcharge, payment of commission on surcharges) – Exchange

of information – Territorial jurisdiction of the Commission – Ne bis in idem principle – State coercion –

Single and continuous infringement – Amount of the fine – Value of sales – Gravity of the infringement –

Unlimited jurisdiction

The applicants are Singapore Airlines Ltd and its subsidiary Singapore Airlines Cargo Pte Ltd.

Singapore Airlines Cargo Pte Ltd is active in the airfreight services market.

They are among the 19 addressees of Commission Decision C(2017) 1742 final of 17 March 2017

relating to a proceeding under Article 101 TFEU, Article 53 of the EEA Agreement and Article 8 of the

Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on Air Transport (Case

AT.39258 – Airfreight) (‘the contested decision’). By that decision, the European Commission found

that there had been a single and continuous infringement of those provisions by which the

undertakings in question had coordinated, over periods between 1999 and 2006, their pricing

behaviour for the provision of freight services worldwide. It imposed a fine of EUR 74 800 000 on the

applicants for their participation in that infringement.

On 7 December 2005, the Commission received an application for immunity under the 2002 Leniency

Notice,

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lodged by Lufthansa and two of its subsidiaries. That application referred to the existence of

anticompetitive contacts between a number of undertakings operating in the airfreight market (‘the

carriers’) with respect to various elements forming part of the prices charged for services on that

market, namely the imposition of ‘fuel’ and ‘security’ surcharges and, in essence, the refusal to grant

freight forwarders a discount on those surcharges. The evidence gathered by the Commission and its

investigations led it to send a statement of objections to 27 carriers on 19 December 2007 and then to

adopt a first decision against 21 carriers, including the applicants, on 9 November 2010.

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However,

that decision was annulled by the General Court, by judgments of 16 December 2015,

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within the

limits of the respective claims for annulment to that end, due to contradictions in the statement of

reasons for that decision.

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Notice on immunity from fines and reduction of fines in cartel cases (OJ 2002 C 45, p. 3).

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Commission Decision C(2010) 7694 final of 9 November 2010 relating to a proceeding under Article 101 TFEU, Article 53 of the EEA

Agreement and Article 8 of the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on Air Tr ansport (Case

COMP/39258 – Airfreight) (‘the initial decision’).

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Judgments of 16 December 2015, Air Canada v Commission (T-9/11, not published, EU:T:2015:994), Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij v

Commission (T-28/11, not published, EU:T:2015:995), Japan Airlines v Commission (T-36/11, not published, EU:T:2015:992), Cathay Pacific

Airways v Commission (T-38/11, not published, EU:T:2015:985), Cargolux Airlines v Commission (T-39/11, not published, EU:T:2015:991), Latam

Airlines Group and Lan Cargo v Commission (T-40/11, not published, EU:T:2015:986), Singapore Airlines and Singapore Airlines Cargo Pte v

Commission (T-43/11, not published, EU:T:2015:989), Deutsche Lufthansa and Others v Commission (T-46/11, not published, EU:T:2015:987),

British Airways v Commission (T-48/11, not published, EU:T:2015:988), SAS Cargo Group and Others v Commission (T-56/11, not published,

EU:T:2015:990), Air France KLM v Commission (T-62/11, not published, EU:T:2015:996), Air France v Commission (T-63/11, not published,

EU:T:2015:993), and Martinair Holland v Commission (T-67/11, not published, EU:T:2015:984).