Ryanair says to bid for slots IAG release at London-Gatwick

BRUSSELS, July 15 (Reuters) - Ryanair will bid for the slots IAG has to release at London's Gatwick airport as a condition of the British Airways-owner's takeover of Aer Lingus (LSE: AERL.L - news) , Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said on Wednesday.

IAG gained European Union antitrust approval for its 1.3-billion-euro ($1.4 billion) bid for the Irish carrier on Tuesday after agreeing to improve concessions to ease competition worries, including giving up five slots at the London airport.

"We welcome the proposals by IAG that they would surrender some slots in Gatwick. We will certainly be bidding for the slots and we would certainly want to expand services we offer at Gatwick," O'Leary, who agreed to sell Ryanair's 30 percent stake in Aer Lingus last week, told a news conference.

(Reporting by Julia Fioretti, writing by Padraic Halpin, editing by Louise Heavens)