Britain’s court of appeal is likely to rule next month on whether Ryanair should cut its stake in rival Aer Lingus to 5 per cent from 29.8 per cent.

Last year, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ordered Ryanair to dispose of most of its Aer Lingus stake, which the regulator found had led, or could be expected to lead, to a substantial lessening of competition between the two on routes between Britain and Ireland.

Ryanair challenged this in the court of appeal, which, after hearing all three parties make their case over two days, is likely to rule before December 19th, the end of the current law term.

The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal quashed an earlier Ryanair challenge to the original ruling in March. The airline has pledged to appeal the CMA finding all the way to Europe if necessary.