Deutsche Bahn’s logistics subsidiary Schenker has filed a lawsuit against certain air cargo carriers operating in the US market, allegedly claiming damages for illegal fixing fuel and security surcharges for shipments from, to and within the US from 1999 until at least 2006. The complaint was filed in New York federal court against air cargo carriers Air France, KLM, Martinair, Cargolux, Qantas, SAS and All Nippon Airways.

All the defendants have entered into guilty pleas and have been imposed significant penalties.The carriers are among the 20 other companies found guilty of violating US anti-trust laws in a probe carried out by the Department of Justice. The companies have also paid fines of around $1.75 billion for the violation of rules, reported Bloomberg.

Deutsche Bahn said in a statement: “The exact amount of the damages suffered by Schenker AG and its affiliated companies has not yet been determined. A number of worldwide competition authorities, including the European Commission, have found that numerous air cargo carriers were involved in a global price-fixing conspiracy to the detriment of freight forwarders and have imposed substantial fines on the companies involved,” the company said.

Numerous air cargo carriers in the US have entered into settlement agreements with plaintiffs and claimants in order to avoid protracted civil lawsuits; however, Schenker rejected the agreements by the named defendants relating to the lawsuit.