Turkish Airlines faces a growing delay in its planned purchase of about 26% of Air Europa, as regulatory approval remains unfinished in Spain and the European Union. The deal, valued at about 300 million euros, could now slip to the end of the year or later, according to the report cited by ABC.
Sources at the European Commission said the transaction has not yet been formally notified under either the EU merger rules or the foreign subsidies regulation. That lack of filing has slowed the timetable Turkish Airlines had been working to, even though the carrier said in March it expected to complete the process in the second half of the year.
The company also said it had sent a draft to Brussels, but the official procedure has still not started. Turkish Airlines has publicly said the process is moving without setbacks, but that is now at odds with the regulatory position described by EU officials.
The case matters because the deal involves a strategic stake in one of Spain’s best-known airlines and because the Turkish state has an interest in Turkish Airlines, which makes the EU foreign subsidies review particularly sensitive. The Commission can examine such transactions under two separate tracks, one for mergers and another for possible state support from outside the bloc.
Under EU rules, the merger review can take up to 115 working days across the initial and second stages, and the clock can stop if regulators ask for more information. The foreign subsidies investigation can add another 90 working days. If both processes take the full allowed time, final approval could be pushed into the last months of 2026.
Spain still has its own approval process to complete. The country’s Foreign Investment Board, which sits under the economy ministry, has not publicly clarified the current status of the application. Turkish Airlines said in March that it had already filed with the body, which has up to 3 months to decide but can also pause the review to request further detail.
If the investment is blocked, the agreement provides for the 300 million euro convertible loan to turn into ordinary debt that Air Europa must repay over 3 years. That would add pressure on the airline owned by the Hidalgo family, which has used the funds to help repay part of the Spanish state’s SEPI rescue package.
Turkish Airlines announced the Air Europa move months ago as part of a wider push to expand its European reach. But the latest delays show how heavily cross-border airline deals now depend on complex regulatory checks in both national capitals and Brussels, especially when public money, state influence or foreign subsidies may be involved.
The uncertainty also leaves Air Europa in a delicate position. The carrier has already benefited from the capital injection linked to the deal, but a prolonged approval process could complicate its financial planning and wider ownership structure. For now, the transaction remains in limbo while authorities continue their assessments.
