Consideration of the first and second questions has revealed nothing that might affect the validity of point FCL.065(b) in Annex I to Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 of 3 November 2011 laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures related to civil aviation aircrew pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council, in the light of Article 15(1) and Article 21(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Under that provision, holders of a pilot’s licence are prohibited from acting as pilots of an aircraft engaged in commercial air transport upon reaching the age of 65. Point FCL.065(b) in Annex I to Regulation No 1178/2011 thus gives holders of a pilot’s licence who have attained the age of 65 less favourable treatment than those under the age of 65. Consequently, it must be held that that provision establishes a difference in treatment based on age.

Furthermore, as the Advocate General observed in point 33 of his Opinion, that limitation respects the essential contents of the principle of non-discrimination. That limitation does not call into question the principle as such, as it concerns only the question, limited in scope, of restrictions on performing pilot duties in order to ensure the safety of aviation (see, by analogy, judgment of 29 April 2015, Léger, C‑528/13, EU:C:2015:288, paragraph 54).

However, it should be recalled that, as regards aviation safety, when interpreting Article 2(5) and Article 4(1) of Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (OJ 2000 L 303, p. 16), the Court has held that the objective of guaranteeing air traffic safety constitutes a legitimate objective within the meaning of those provisions (see, to that effect, judgment of 13 September 2011, Prigge and Others, C‑447/09, EU:C:2011:573, paragraphs 58 and 69). In those circumstances, it must be held that the objective of establishing and maintaining a high uniform level of civil aviation safety in Europe constitutes an objective of general interest.

Furthermore, it should be noted that, after stating that it is essential that airline pilots possess sufficient physical capabilities, in so far as physical defects may have significant consequences for that profession, the Court held that it is undeniable that those capabilities diminish with age (see, to that effect, judgment of 13 September 2011, Prigge and Others, C‑447/09, EU:C:2011:573, paragraph 67). Consequently, as they make it possible to prevent a reduction of those physical capabilities after the age of 65 causing accidents, the provisions of point FCL.065(b) in Annex I to Regulation No 1178/2011 are appropriate for achieving the objective of general interest pursued. Accordingly, prohibiting holders of a pilot’s licence who have attained the age of 65 from acting as pilots of aircraft engaged in commercial air transport is an appropriate means of maintaining an adequate level of civil aviation safety in Europe.

In such circumstances, it does not appear unreasonable for the EU legislature, by taking into consideration the importance of human factors in the field of civil aviation and the progressive reduction of the physical capabilities necessary for acting as an airline pilot over the years, to find it necessary to fix an age limit for acting as a pilot in the commercial air transport sector, in order to maintain an adequate level of civil aviation safety in Europe. In those circumstances, it must be held that prohibiting holders of a pilot’s licence who have attained the age of 65 from acting as pilots of aircraft engaged in commercial air transport does not go beyond what is necessary for achieving the objective of general interest pursued. It follows from the foregoing that difference in treatment on grounds of age established by point FCL.065(b) in Annex I to Regulation No 1178/2011 is compatible with Article 21(1) of the Charter.

Furthermore, all of the considerations set out in paragraphs 53 to 68 of the present judgment support the conclusion that the EU legislature, by laying down the provision whose validity is challenged, has weighed the requirements of aviation safety against the individual right of holders of a pilot’s licence aged over 65 to engage in work and to pursue a chosen occupation, in a way that cannot be regarded as disproportionate in relation to the objective pursued. Accordingly, prohibiting holders of a pilot’s licence who have attained the age of 65 from acting as pilots of aircraft engaged in commercial air transport, referred to in point FCL.065(b) in Annex I to Regulation No 1178/2011, is compatible with Article 15(1) of the Charter.

(see paras 32-34, 38, 42, 43, 46, 47, 52, 56, 68, 69, 78-80, operative part 1)