The Leipzig Airport judgment: The application of EU state aid rules to the financing of airport infrastructure

Abstract

Since 2005, the European Commission has examined the public financing of airport infrastructure under European Union (EU) state aid rules. This extension of the Commission's control followed the evolution of the sector as acknowledged by the Court of Justice of the EU in the Aéroports de Paris case in which airports were qualified as undertakings and thus submitted to European law. In March 2011 the Court of Justice confirmed the Commission's practice towards the financing of airport infrastructure in the Leipzig Airport case. The Court nevertheless reminded all parties that airport infrastructure dedicated to non-economic activities, such as safety and security, falls outside the scope of EU state aid rules. The aim of this paper is to provide airport managers and public authorities with a practical guide to the European legal constraints regarding the public financing of airport infrastructures.