Case C-628/11: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 18 March 2014 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberlandesgericht Braunschweig — Germany) — Criminal proceedings against International Jet Management GmbH (Reference for a preliminary ruling  — Article 18 TFEU  — Prohibition of any discrimination on the ground of nationality  — Commercial flights from a third State to a Member State  — Legislation of a Member State providing that European Union air carriers not having an operating licence issued by that State must obtain an authorisation for each flight from a third State)
Date: 2014-03-18
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: EU law - national law, air transport, discrimination on the basis of nationality, fine, third country, transport licence








C_2014142EN.01000201.xml










12.5.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 142/2





Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 18 March 2014 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberlandesgericht Braunschweig — Germany) — Criminal proceedings against International Jet Management GmbH
(Case C-628/11) (1)

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Article 18 TFEU - Prohibition of any discrimination on the ground of nationality - Commercial flights from a third State to a Member State - Legislation of a Member State providing that European Union air carriers not having an operating licence issued by that State must obtain an authorisation for each flight from a third State))
2014/C 142/02
Language of the case: German

Referring court

Oberlandesgericht Braunschweig

Party in the main proceedings

International Jet Management GmbH

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Oberlandesgericht Braunschweig — Interpretation of Article 18 TFEU — Commercial flights from a third State to a Member State — Legislation of a Member State providing that air carriers not having an operating licence issued by that State must obtain an authorisation for each flight from a third State — Financial penalty imposed on a Community air carrier not complying with that legislation

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 18 TFEU, which enshrines the general principle of non-discrimination on grounds of nationality, is applicable to a situation such as that at issue in the main proceedings, in which a first Member State requires an air carrier holding an operating licence issued by a second Member State to obtain an authorisation to enter the airspace of the first Member State to operate private flights in non-scheduled traffic from a third country to that first Member State, although such an authorisation is not required for air carriers holding an operating licence issued by that first Member State.










2.


Article 18 TFEU must be interpreted as precluding legislation of a first Member State which requires, on pain of a fine, an air carrier holding an operating licence issued by a second Member State to obtain an authorisation to enter the airspace of the first Member State to operate private flights in non-scheduled traffic from a third country to that first Member State, although such an authorisation is not required for air carriers holding an operating licence issued by that first Member State, and which makes the grant of that authorisation subject to production of a declaration confirming that the air carriers holding an operating licence issued by that first Member State are either not willing to operate those flights or are prevented from operating them.






(1)  OJ C 80, 17. 3. 2012.