Improved competitive conditions for the sale of aviation and jet fuel at domestic airports

This decision describes a settlement reached by Skeljungur hf. (hereinafter „Skeljungur“) with the Competition Authority to improve and equalise competitors' access to Skeljungur's essential facilities for the storage and handling of fuel at airports. The settlement concludes the administrative proceedings concerning the complaint by N1 against Skeljungur regarding access to airport facilities, as well as Skeljungur's role in the supply-side barriers to competition that were revealed by the market investigation into the fuel market. Through the settlement, Skeljungur has committed to ensuring, through specified measures, that other fuel suppliers have easier access to the company's facilities at the airports, including equal and objective access for such parties to storage capacity owned by the company and all related services. This creates a more secure foundation for effective competition in the sale of aviation fuel.

These conditions take into account the conditions currently in force in the operations of Olíudreifing Íslands (ODR), which were imposed in connection with the mergers between, on the one hand, Haga and Olíuverzlun Íslands, and on the other hand, N1 and Festi, pursuant to decisions number 8 and 9/2019. The conditions further take into account the preliminary assessment of the Competition Authority regarding the market investigation into the fuel market, see the Authority's report no. 2/2015.

The circumstances of this case can be traced to a complaint by N1 hf. (now Festi hf.) dated 7th. October 2015, which concerned Skeljungs' alleged refusal of access to its supply facilities at domestic airports, as well as a demand that the Competition Authority issue an interim order granting access to its facilities under section 3. subsection 16 of the Competition Act. By letters to N1 and Skeljungs, dated 27 October 2015, the Competition Authority informed N1 and Skeljungur that it considered there were grounds to examine in more detail whether to investigate Skeljungur's alleged conduct at the aforementioned airports, pursuant to Article 9 of the Authority's rules of procedure. However, it was not urgent to make an interim decision under the 3rd paragraph of Article 16 of the Competition Act. Furthermore, the Competition Authority's preliminary report on its market investigation into the fuel market was published in November 2015 and subsequently put out for consultation, the authority's preliminary assessment focusing in particular on access to storage facilities. In light of this, the investigation into the complaint by N1 concerning Skeljungur was put on hold for the time being and was subsequently delayed due to the Authority's investigation into the merger in the fuel and grocery markets, where access to fuel supplies was also under consideration.