The regulatory model of the European airline industry is very distinct. On the one hand, substantial competition law and merger control rules seek to safeguard its competitiveness. On the other hand, the market is protected by the mercantilist ‘Control & Ownership’ clause that prevent foreign nationals from owning and controlling EU air carriers. However, despite the fact that this limits the expansion of carriers from other States outside the EU, these operators are forced to acquire relatively small non-controlling shares. Such a pattern provides certain challenges in terms of enforcement since it is not covered by the notification requirement. At the same time, cooperation between air carriers is certainly not limited to those with common ownership structure. As a rule, cooperation and partial acquisition of shares were assessed under Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. According to the Commission, this is part of an “enforcement gap”, which shall be overcome by a proposed ex ante control of acquisition of non-controlling minority shareholdings. The design of the system envisages an initial self-assessment followed by a Commission intervention. The EU Merger Regulation is not sector-specific; nevertheless, this paper will attempt to provide an impact assessment of the proposed solution in a sector that is very peculiar in terms of operational characteristics and legal environment, although some parts of the analysis will have cross-sector relevance.