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Pegasus Airlines has received approval from the Czech antitrust office to acquire Smartwings, clearing a key regulatory hurdle as the Turkish low-cost carrier seeks to expand its presence in Europe.
The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (UOHS) approved the acquisition on Friday, with Smartwings retaining its name under the transaction.
The clearance follows Türkiye’s Competition Authority’s approval of Pegasus’ acquisition of Smartwings and Czech Airlines in August, advancing the €154 million ($179 million) deal that Pegasus announced last December.
UOHS made the approval conditional on measures proposed by Pegasus to "preserve effective competition." The commitments mainly involve transferring part of the summer-season slots on the scheduled Prague-Antalya route to another airline, UOHS said.
Smartwings operates 49 aircraft and serves 80 destinations. The low-cost carrier has operated for two decades, tracing its origins to charter company Travel Service. It took control of Czech Airlines in 2018 and assumed its operations after the flag carrier’s final flight under its own livery in 2024.
Pegasus, established in 1990, operates 131 aircraft and serves 160 destinations in 56 countries as of the first half of the year, including 39 destinations in Türkiye and 121 international destinations, from its main hub at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport.
The Smartwings acquisition fits into Pegasus’ broader international expansion strategy, with the carrier targeting Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. CEO Guliz Ozturk has said Smartwings’ four Air Operator Certificates in Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia will give Pegasus more flexibility to operate from different countries and reach new destinations.
The expansion is being supported by additional financing, as the carrier completed a $149.9 million bond issuance in July, drawing on a $250 million overseas debt-issuance ceiling approved by Türkiye’s Capital Markets Board (CMB).
Pegasus also signed a multi-year partnership making it Chelsea FC’s official airline for both its men’s and women’s teams, aiming to boost its visibility in priority international markets and support its further growth plans in the United Kingdom.
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