European Union regulators have charged British Airways Plc, Japan Airlines Corp and an unspecified number of carriers with breaking competition rules following a probe into alleged price fixing at their cargo divisions.

The European Commission, the EU's antitrust regulator in Brussels, sent so-called statements of objections, or official charge sheets, to "a number of companies," Jonathan Todd, a commission spokesman, said yesterday.

European and US regulators are investigating at least a dozen carriers, including Deutsche Lufthansa AG, AMR Corp's American Airlines and Air France-KLM Group, over the possible price fixing of fuel surcharges at their cargo units. Under EU rules, companies can be fined 10 percent of annual sales for antitrust violations. They have two months to respond and can appeal decisions at European courts in Luxembourg, Bloomberg News said.

British Airways, Europe's third-biggest carrier, Japan Airlines, Asia's largest by sales, Stockholm-based SAS Group, the owner of Scandinavian Airlines, and Cargolux Airlines International SA said they had received the charges, without providing details.

"SAS has a strict policy for compliance with competition rules," Chief Executive Officer Mats Jansson said when asked about the charges.

(Shanghai Daily December 24, 2007)