On Thursday, the Competition Commission said Ryanair's minority stake meant it could influence strategy at one of its main competitors. This could prove problematic if Aer Lingus wanted to team up with another airline, raise capital or sell its valuable slots at London's Heathrow Airport, it added. "We were particularly concerned about Ryanair's influence over Aer Lingus's ability to be acquired by, merge with, or acquire another airline," said Simon Polito, deputy chairman of the commission. "We thought it likely that such a combination would be necessary to increase Aer Lingus's scale and achieve synergies to allow it to remain competitive in future." The commission said one effective remedy to the "substantial lessening of competition" would be to sell the entire 29.8% stake. It is seeking views on other remedies, such as Ryanair selling part of that stake, or so-called behavioural remedies, such as limiting its voting rights.