Brussels, 12/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission confirmed on Tuesday 11 March that it had carried out surprise inspections at several airline passenger carriers operating on long-haul passenger routes. According to the German company Lufthansa, the companies inspected provide services on routes between Japan and Europe. Lufthansa, KLM (Netherlands), the Dutch subsidiary of Air France, and Alitalia (Italy) have all acknowledged having received a visit from national civil servants and the Commission. By contrast, British Airways (UK), Virgin Atlantic (also UK), and the Scandinavian group SAS have declared that they were not involved. A Commission press release said that the inspections were a response to fears concerning companies' compliance with Article 81 of the EC Treaty on anti-competitive practices, but they in no way prejudge the guilt of the companies involved. There is no deadline for inquiries into suspected cartel activities. (C.D.)