S.L. 499.27 Art. 4Withdrawal of fares or stoppage of further fare decreases.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation, the Director may decide, at any moment:

(a) to withdraw a basic fare which, taking into account the whole fare structure for the route in question and other relevant factors including the competitive market situation, is excessively high to the disadvantage of users in relation to the long term fully-allocated relevant costs of the air carrier, including a satisfactory return on capital;

(b) to stop, in a non-discriminatory way, further fare decreases in a market, whether on a route or a group of routes, when market forces have led to sustained downward development of air fares deviating significantly from ordinary seasonal pricing movements and resulting in widespread losses among all air carriers concerned for the air services concerned, taking into account the long term fully allocated relevant costs of the air transport undertakings.

(2) A decision taken pursuant to subregulation (1) shall be notified with reasons to the relevant authorities of the other Agreement States involved as well as to the air transport undertakings concerned.

(3) If within fourteen days of the date of receiving notification no relevant authority of any Agreement State concerned has notified disagreement stating its reasons, the Director may instruct the air transport undertaking concerned to withdraw the basic fare or to abstain from further fare decreases, as appropriate.

(4) In the case of disagreement, the Director may consult the relevant authority of the Agreement State involved to review the situation.