More than a dozen airlines have been drawn into a widening investigation by United States and European Union officials of whether there has been collusion in the air-cargo industry to fix prices on surcharges for fuel, security and insurance.
Spokespeople for the European Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation refused Wednesday to provide details of the probe.
But one of the foreign airlines targeted, SAS Cargo in Copenhagen, Denmark, said the EU has alleged that cooperation among airlines began in 2000 and involved agreements about surcharges imposed by airlines to offset certain external costs.
Among the costs, according to a statement from SAS, are surcharges on fuel, added security after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S. and premiums for war-risk insurance after the start of the war in Iraq. SAS said in a statement it does not suspect any violations at its operations.
Raids were conducted at the offices of several airlines Tuesday, and on Wednesday several more cargo carriers said they had been contacted or issued subpoenas from authorities.
In Washington, FBI spokesman Bill Carter said records in the case have been sealed, and he referred further questions to Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona, who would say only that the investigation was ongoing. She declined to comment further.
EU antitrust spokesman Jon athan Todd in Brussels, Belgium, when asked if there was also an investigation into collusion in setting fuel surcharges for passenger flights, said: “I cannot make any comment on any other investigation that may or may not be going on.”
The commission said Tuesday that the raids were a preliminary step in investigations into suspected cartels and that they do not mean the companies raided are guilty of anti-competitive behavior.
