Dismissal of the appeal against the refusal of an operating permit for an airfield

Facts

[X. AG] applied to the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) for an operating permit for airfield [A.] . The FOCA rejected the application because [X. AG] did not have the necessary rights to use the entire airfield. [X. AG] appealed to the Federal Administrative Court, which dismissed the appeal. [X. AG] then appealed to the Federal Court.

The [A.] flying group is currently the holder of the operating permit for airfield [A.] and tenant of the eastern end of the runway, as well as holder of the overflight rights to the adjacent property. [X. AG] has no rights to use the hangar and the eastern end of the runway.

The Federal Court must decide whether [X. AG] should be granted the operating permit for airfield [A.] or whether the permit should be withdrawn from the [A.] flying group.

Considerations

The Federal Court has established that [X. AG] does not have the necessary rights to use the entire airfield and therefore the operating permit cannot be granted. The [A.] flying group is currently the holder of the operating permit and tenant of the eastern end of the runway, as well as holder of the overflight rights to the adjacent property.

The Federal Court has also established that the lower court correctly affirmed the party status of the [A.] flying group, as it is affected in its rights and obligations by the proceedings. The complaint of [X. AG] that the lower court abused its discretion and fell into…