THE HIGH Court has thrown out Ryanair’s legal challenge to the aviation regulator’s assessment of charges for airlines using Dublin airport. Judge Frank Clarke yesterday told the low-cost airline to pay half the legal costs of the Commission for Aviation Regulation, (CAR) which contested Ryanair’s challenge.
He also told Ryanair it would have to bear 100 per cent of the legal costs of the Dublin Airport Authority, drawn into the proceedings as a notice party.
Ryanair had claimed the commission had unlawfully included capital expenditure for the development of Terminal 2 at the airport in assessing charges to airlines. When Judge Clarke, in an earlier judgment, told the commission to clarify its decision-making process, Ryanair welcomed his direction.
It said then that CAR’s decision relating to the costs of building Terminal 2 was illegal and rewarded the Dublin Airport Authority monopoly for profligate waste and inefficiency.
Judge Clarke told Mr Michael Howard, S.C., counsel for the commission, said it was the court’s decision that CAR was entitled to include capital costs in assessing and revising airline charges and dismissed Ryanair’s claim in its entirety.He granted Mr Martin Hayden, S.C., counsel for Ryanair a 21-day stay to facilitate consideration of an appeal.