Dimitrov, Petrov & Co. is reporting that on May 16, 2017, Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition issued a decision stating that firm client Sofia Airport’s conduct in the ground handling services market cannot be defined as an abuse of dominant position.
According to DPCo., "about four years ago, а team of DPCo. experts, with Head of Competition Zoya Todorova and Senior Associate Donka Stoyanova at its core, took up the defense of Sofia Airport in this complex case regarding alleged abuse of dominance via predatory pricing. Due to the rapid increase in traffic at Sofia Airport and the entry of a couple of new low-cost airlines, competition between the three ground handling companies at the airport has been getting more and more intense over the last few years. Being the historically dominant party and an operator of the airport facilities itself, our client had been accused of abuse of dominance on the downstream market of ground handling services. The case involved highly complex market and financial analysis on the part of our competition experts to prove that the behavior of the client [is] in line with market development which excludes any anti-competitive practices. The decision of the CPC is subject to appeal before the Supreme Administrative Court within 14 days as of its announcement."
