Asiana Airlines has received final shareholder approval to sell its cargo business to Air Incheon.
The shareholder approval for the sale of Asiana’s cargo business to Air Incheon was announced on 25 February, reported The Korea Herald.
This approval will enable the $342m transaction to go ahead. The sale is part of European Union conditions for Korean Air to acquire Asiana Airlines, a $1.3bn deal that was executed in December.
Air Cargo News has contacted Asiana Airlines and Air Incheon for comment.
Asiana aims to finalise the transfer of assets and personnel to Air Incheon by 10 June. The transaction includes: 10 Boeing 747 freighters, one Boeing 767 freighter and approximately 800 employees.
Korean first announced its plan to acquire Asiana in November 2020, but the acquisition proceedings were delayed by the Covid pandemic, while the EU was concerned the acquisition would result in reduced competition between Europe and South Korea.
To secure regulatory approval from Brussels for the move, Korean offered to sell Asiana’s cargo business in October 2023.
Then in February 2024, the European Commission approved the proposed acquisition of Asiana by Korean, but as part of this, Korean had to commit to divesting Asiana’s cargo business.
In August 2024, Korean signed a “basic business sale agreement” with Air Incheon for Asiana’s cargo business and in November 2024, the European Commission approved the sale.
Air Incheon, established in 2012, is the only South Korean airline entirely dedicated to freighter cargo transport.
The sale of Asiana’s cargo business includes freighter aircraft, slots, traffic rights, flight crew, and other employees, as well as customer cargo contracts.
