The European Commission approved the proposed acquisition of Olympic Air by fellow Greek carrier Aegean Airlines,

which is a member of the Star Alliance. EC determined that "Olympic Air would be forced to exit the market in the near future due to financial difficulties if not acquired by Aegean. Therefore, with or without the merger, Olympic would soon disappear as a competitor to Aegean. Thus the merger causes no harm to competition that would not have occurred anyway." EC noted that Olympic has not turned a profit since privatization in 2009 and is "highly unlikely to become profitable in the foreseeable future under any business plan." EC cited the Greek financial crisis, which from 2009 to 2012 led to a 26 percent reduction in domestic air passengers from Athens. That trend has continued this year, with domestic passenger numbers in Athens during the first six months of 2013 dropping another 6.3 percent versus the year-earlier period.