A COMPETITION watchdog has been asked to examine the take-over of ailing airline BMI amid pricing concerns for Scottish passengers.

Labour and the SNP have called for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to look at plans for a £172.5 million takeover deal, announced last month by the owners of British Airways.

Under the deal, BA's owners, International Airline Group (IAG), will acquire loss-making BMI, formerly British Midland Airways, from German carrier Lufthansa.

It will give the firm, which also owns Spanish airline Iberia, up to 56 additional, much-prized take-off and landing slots at Heathrow.

However, Labour Shadow Transport Secretary Maria Eagle last night said she was more concerned about the impact this would have on competition on domestic routes to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Speaking during a House of Commons debate on the Civil Aviation Bill, she said: "The recently agreed sale of BMI by Lufthansa to IAG has raised con-siderable worries in Scotland and Northern Ireland particularly about the impact on short-haul domestic routes, not least the price implications for passengers.

"The Government has, to date, refused to take these concerns seriously and I can tell the House ... the Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland [Margaret Curran] and I have now referred the sale of BMI to the OFT."

She said that while there were precedents within the European Union for a single company to control a larger percentage of slots at any one airport "the situation at Heathrow is very different because of the capacity issues which significantly restrict the potential for competition".

Ms Eagles added: "I fully under-stand and respect BA's wish to expand its operations, not least to pursue the new long-haul markets from Heathrow that are needed for our economic competitiveness.

"However, many, many years before a high-speed rail service becomes a reality between Scotland and London, and Heathrow in particular, we must balance the need to maintain the domestic air links on which the Scottish economy depends."

SNP Transport spokesman Angus McNeil added he has also written to the OFT to raise concerns about the takeover and its impact on Scotland.

He said: "It's a lose-lose situation for Scotland. I fly through Glasgow to London all the time and I believe the takeover will inevitably lead to less competitive pricing and not quite as good a service, because they won't face as much competition."

A spokesman for rival Virgin Atlantic also backed the calls for an investigation, claiming passengers should be concerned by the takeover. He said: "We are not surprised there's quite a lot of concern about the potential deal and there have already been lots of letters written to the European Commission and the OFT.

"BA already flies on 60% of BMI routes and that really doesn't bode well for the future of competition in the market.

"Millions of passengers in the north travel down to Heathrow each year and there's very good reason for them to be concerned."

IAG would comment on the referral to the OFT, but added the company believes there will still be plenty of choice for consumers.

A spokeswoman said: "British Airways has a long history of flying between Scotland and London, including to and from Heathrow, and we fully intend to preserve these links."

The OFT said it was aware of submissions from the SNP and Labour and was considering them. However, a spokesman for the watchdog said it could not take action until the European Commission is formally notified of the takeover.