This Friday, the Council of State rejected the French airports which contested the ban on air connections when a rail alternative exists in less than 2h30, the court announced.
Coming into force on May 23, 2023 with the publication of a decree implementing the Climate and Resilience law, this measure had already been anticipated with the end of connections between Paris-Orly airport and the cities of Nantes (Loire). -Atlantic), Bordeaux (Gironde) and Lyon (Lyon).
The ban does not concern connecting flights, but it was contested by the Union of French Airports (UAF), which notably filed an appeal for "excess of power" against this decree, considering that it infringed the freedom of enterprise and requesting its cancellation as well as a referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the text being according to the airports incompatible with community regulations.
No “distortion of competition” according to the Council of State
According to the Council of State, "it is not established by the elements placed in the file that it (
the ban
) would cause on the lines concerned a distortion of competition between air carriers, especially since its period of validity is limited to a period of three years at the end of which it will be subject, after evaluation, to a re-examination.”
The UAF argued that the effects of the measure on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would be minimal, but according to the Council of State, "the fact remains that it is likely to contribute in the short term to the reduction of these emissions in the field of air transport and cannot be considered, given the challenges of the fight against climate change, as being more restrictive than necessary.”
Consequently, the UAF "is not justified in requesting the annulment for excess of power of the decree it is attacking", according to the court, which also refused to refer the matter to European justice and ordered the organization to pay 3,000 euros to cover legal costs.
The UAF right in its boots
If the decision of the Council of State does not constitute a “surprise”, it is nevertheless a “disappointment” for the UAF, declared its general delegate Nicolas Paulissen, in particular the refusal to refer the matter to European justice. .
“It seems a shame to us, we would have liked the European judge to be able to rule” on France's recourse to article 20 of the European regulation on air services, he explained.
This article provides that a Member State may, "where there are serious environmental problems (...) limit or refuse the exercise of traffic rights", but provides that these measures must not cause distortion of competition and not exceed three years.
The UAF “will meet at the end of the three-year period”, promised the general delegate, recalling that the UAF “remains in the position (…) that eliminating domestic lines in this way is not the solution to reduce emissions.