TEGOS law firm is proud to announce that the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania (LVAT) has dismissed the appeal filed by Ryanair Designated Activity Company and Wizz Air Hungary Ltd and upheld the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court’s decision of 27 March 2024, which was decided in favour of our client, joint-stock company Lithuanian Airports (LTOU). The ruling is final and not subject to further appeal.
This case is landmark – it is the first case in the history of Lithuanian courts in which the regulation of airport charges implementing European Union law, namely the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on airport charges (Directive 2009/12/EC), was considered and adjudicated upon.
Background
The applicants, Ryanair Designated Activity Company and Wizz Air Hungary Ltd, brought proceedings seeking the annulment of LTOU Director’s Order No. 1R-111 of 22 July 2022 and the Order of the Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration (LTSA) No. 2BE-319 of 15 December 2022. The dispute arose because LTOU implemented a charges-setting procedure in 2021–2022, as Vilnius Airport’s charges had not been revised since 2018; the review had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and any further delay in approving new charges would have posed a real threat to the quality and continued development of Vilnius Airport.
Precedential Significance
The case involved highly complex legal and economic issues: the application of the transparency principle in setting airport charges, the lawfulness of the T-correction mechanism, the methodology for calculating the weighted average cost of capital (WACC), and the scope of judicial review in relation to decisions of an economic nature. Of particular importance was the interpretation of the Airport Charges Regulations in the context of Directive 2009/12, with due regard to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The LVAT drew upon the CJEU’s judgment of 21 November 2019 in Deutsche Lufthansa, Case C-379/18, in which the key principles of non-discrimination, transparency and consultation with interested parties were interpreted and affirmed.
The ruling establishes a precedent that will shape Lithuanian judicial practice on the regulation of airport charges for years to come.
The TEGOS Team
LTOU was represented in the proceedings by TEGOS team: attorneys at law Ramūnas Kontrauskas, Dovilė Armalytė, Vytautas Zelianka and assistant attorney Kristijonas Povylius. The team operated with exceptional diligence and expertise, preparing comprehensive procedural submissions, conducting detailed legal and economic analysis, and representing the client at court hearings across both instances.
We extend our particular gratitude to the in-house team at Lithuanian Airports, and especially to Chief Legal and Compliance Officer Diana Bankauskienė, whose active engagement, professionalism and close collaboration with the TEGOS team were a decisive factor in achieving this result.
Comment from TEGOS Partner Ramūnas Kontrauskas:
“This case is exceptional in the history of Lithuanian administrative litigation – it is the first time Lithuanian courts have been called upon to assess the regulation of airport charges implementing a European Union directive. We are delighted that courts at both instances confirmed that Lithuanian Airports acted lawfully and with proper justification. This is an important precedent not only for our client, but for the entire aviation sector in Lithuania.“
