German cartel office: Lufthansa must not end co-operation deals with Condor

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's cartel office has prohibited Lufthansa from ending long-term cooperation agreements with charter airline Condor until further notice, saying the national carrier was hindering Condor competing on long-haul routes.

Lufthansa has said it would cancel an agreement allowing Condor passengers to use Lufthansa feeder flights as part of their journey to holiday destinations which prompted Condor to complain that Lufthansa abused its market dominance. Lufthansa has since extended the agreement until Oct. 31.

"We have reached the conclusion that Condor is entitled under competition law to be given access to the feeder flights operated by Lufthansa also after this point in time," said the office in a statement on Thursday.

(Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Paul Carrel)