Competition notice in aviation

CCI scrutiny of Air India-Vistara merger could be a test case

Duopoly in India is a concern not just to telecom. Aviation too is showing signs of two players dominating the market. Against that backdrop, the competition watchdog has raised a kind of red flag while studying the proposed merger of Air India, acquired by Tata Group in 2022, and Vistara, a joint venture of the group and Singapore Airlines. The notice, sent by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to Air India asking why its merger with Vistara should not be investigated from the realm of antitrust norms, could result in delaying the deal. Apart from that, the course of