Austrian Court Overturns Vienna Airport Extension Ban

Austria’s Constitutional Court has annulled the decision by a lower court to block Vienna Airport building a third runway.

The country’s Federal Administrative Court in February rejected an application by the airport to construct a third runway. Flughafen Wien, the airport operator, then appealed the ruling to the Constitutional Court.

A statement from the Constitutional Court said that “In the contested decision, the Federal Administrative Court has largely ignored the legal situation in several respects. This abundant misunderstanding of the legal situation is a burden on the decision; It violates the parties in the right to equality before the law.”

It said the Administrative Court had also erroneously calculated the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the project.

The case will now go back to the lower court for a new decision.

Flughafen Wien welcomed the ruling saying “This is a good day for Austria as a business location as well as for Vienna Airport. Accordingly, an infrastructure project of such importance for the future has a realistic chance of being implemented.

“We hope that the Federal Administrative Court which is responsible for the matter once again will make a quick decision.”