The business model of Luebeck Airport received a setback as Air Berlin, on behalf of all members of the Federation of German Airlines (BDF) took legal action against the subsidies paid by Luebeck Airport to the…
The business model of Luebeck Airport received a setback as Air Berlin, on behalf of all members of the Federation of German Airlines (BDF) took legal action against the subsidies paid by Luebeck Airport to the Irish company Ryanair.
According to the written judgement of the First Chamber for Trade Disputes at the District Court of Kiel, it was decided that the remuneration regulations of Luebeck Airport are “unreasonable” and therefore “not binding” for Air Berlin. The court further decided that the airport has to disclose all preferential terms which have been granted to Ryanair so far.
As a result of Ryanair having been able to offer connections from Luebeck to London at uncommercial low prices, Air Berlin had to stop its flights from Hamburg to London due to them being uneconomic. At first the airport company had rejected the right to bring a lawsuit in principle.
“This judgement is of fundamental importance. For the first time, a German court has ruled that an airline is entitled to a declaratory judgement even if this airline does not regularly fly to the airport in question but operates from a nearby airport”, BDF Director Dr. Tanja Wielgoß explained.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
