IAG International Airlines Group would explore a potential bid for easyJet Group, but the current European Union mergers and acquisitions rules would make such a transaction "very difficult", the holding's chief executive officer Luis Gallego told the Financial Times.

"We are open to everything, not only easyJet. We understand that aviation must consolidate in order to be more efficient. I think we can explore everything that we consider [can make us] a stronger group," he said.

This comes shortly after Castlelake disclosed it was analysing a potential bid for the low-cost carrier. The US-based fund has until June 26 to make a formal offer, but due to the prevailing control and ownership rules would need an EU-based partner to acquire a majority stake. This sparked speculation that either IAG or Air France-KLM, among others, could team up for the acquisition.

While refusing to comment on the Castlelake issue directly, Gallego opined that the EU should be more open to further airline consolidation.

"They need to understand that we need scale. In Europe, if we want to compete, if we want to have a scale to compete in the world, I think, we need more consolidation," he said.

IAG owns British Airways with its subsidiaries, Iberia and Iberia Express, Aer Lingus, Vueling Airlines, and LEVEL. It also controls a 20% stake in Air Europa, but it abandoned plans to acquire the remaining shares in that carrier in 2024. "We couldn’t do it because of the remedies that the European Commission asked for, and then we abandoned the operation," Gallego said.