European Commission officials have raided the offices of several international airlines as part of investigations into an alleged illegal cartel on long-haul flights.

The Commission did not name which airlines were being investigated, but Lufthansa, KLM and Air France have confirmed they are among the group.

A statement by Lufthansa said: "The Commission has information that passenger aviation companies, including Lufthansa in Europe and in Japan, may have taken part in anti-competitive price-fixing and collusive behaviour in traffic between the EU and Japan.

"Lufthansa is cooperating with the European Commission in full and willingly providing all the requested information.”

KLM and Air France said they were also cooperating fully with the investigation.

The Commission stressed that the inspections did not necessarily mean the companies targeted were guilty.

By Bev Fearis

Source: www.travelmole.com