ASL Aviation Group has completed the purchase of the airline operations of TNT Express. The transaction includes Belgian subsidiary TNT Airways and Pan Air Líneas Aéreas, based in Spain. ASL has also entered a multi-year service agreement with TNT to operate flights for the FedEx-TNT combination.

The Dublin-based ASL operates scheduled, ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance), and charter passenger and cargo flights for global customers in Europe, Africa, and Asia. ASL Aviation Group had revenues of $426 million in 2015.

The acquisition represents an essential step towards the closing of the FedEx offer to acquire TNT.

The deal between ASL and TNT was originally announced in February of this year after FedEx’s offer to purchase TNT and made conditional on the completion of FedEx’s acquisition of TNT. Under European Union rules, no company based outside the EU can operate a European airline. With the approval of Chinese authorities in May, the FedEx offer to acquire TNT has jumped all of the required regulatory hurdles.

ASL will take over the flights operated by TNT Airways and Pan Air Líneas Aéreas. The company expects the airlines will maintain contracts with partner airlines, contractors and suppliers.

The purchased TNT carriers will be renamed – TNT Airways becomes ASL Airlines Belgium and Pan Air Líneas Aéreas will be called ASL Airlines Spain. With the acquisition, the number of airlines owned by ASL rises to nine. The deal also added 35 aircraft to ASL’s total fleet, which now includes more than 150 cargo and passenger aircraft.

At total of 580 workers from the former TNT airlines have switched over to ASL, raising the number of employees in the ASL Group to 2,500. ASL Aviation Group has stated that it will respect the employees’ current terms and conditions of employment.

Under the ASL-TNT agreement, ASL will maintain the TNT Airways headquarters in Liège as the corporate offices of ASL Airlines Belgium and the TNT facility in Madrid will be maintained as the headquarters of ASL Airlines Spain.

TNT’s Liège Eurohub is not part of the deal. It will be maintained as a significant operation for the FedEx-TNT combination.