The Supreme Court yesterday ruled in favour of Ryanair and made a declaration that increased ground handling charges by Aer Rianta were unlawful on the basis that the company had not secured approval from the Minister for Public Enterprise.
The judgment follows a decision of the European Court in favour of Ryanair on the issue. The Supreme Court yesterday also granted unspecified damages to which the airline was entitled .
In October/December 2000, Aer Rianta announced its intention to increase the annual desk charge at Dublin Airport to €15,236 per annum with effect from January 1st, 2001. At that time Ryanair rented 14 check-in desks from Aer Rianta.
In earlier proceedings before the High Court, Ryanair claimed the check-in desk rental was a fee for access to an airport installation and that the approval of the Minister for Public Enterprise had not been obtained in advance of the increase in the desk rental charge.
Aer Rianta contended that prior Ministerial approval was not required for its introduction.