Carriers have been fighting fines issued by the European Commission for participating in a price-fixing cartel from December 1999 to February 2006.
The legal action was launched due to introducing fuel and security surcharges and refusing to pay commission to freight forwarders on the surcharges.
They have been fighting against fines totalling €790m since the European Commission’s original ruling in November 2010.
In December 2015, the General Court of the European Union annulled the decision against 11 carriers who appealed due to procedural issues, prompting carriers to dismiss the fines or at least have them reduced.
On 30 March, the General Court dismissed actions brought by Martinair Holland, KLM, Cargolux, Air France-KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Singapore Airlines, upholding the fines imposed.
Lufthansa and two of its subsidiaries were given immunity from fines due to acting as whistle blowers.
Fines against Japan Airlines, Air Canada, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, SAS, LATAM Airlines Group and LAN Cargo have been annulled.
Action against Japan Airlines was dropped due to the Commission wrongly applying liability and the statute of limitation had expired.
Air Canada and British Airways were found to have refused to pay commissions on the surcharges but the Court found that the Commission was entitled to take into account documents submitted for Air Canada’s leniency, which British Airways sought to have withdrawn.
For Cathay Pacific, the Commission was found to have breached the statute of limitation.
LATAM and LAN’s decisions were annulled the Commission failed to prove participation in the fuel surcharges prior to July 2005, and finding them liable and penalising them was a breach of the statue of limitation.
SAS Group were found not to have participated in refusing to pay commissions and its actions relating to fuel surcharges did not infringe EU and EEA rules on routes from Thailand.
To ensure equal treatment of incriminated carriers, the General Court increased part of the amount of the fines imposed by including the value of its sales made on internal routes within Denmark, Sweden and Norway in its calculations.