Suspension and revocation of the concession due to poor financial situation of the aircraft carrier

The competent concession authority may at any time assess the financial performance of a Community air carrier to which it has granted an operating concession. Based on this assessment, the authority "suspends or withdraws" the license if it is no longer convinced (according to objective criteria) that the Community air carrier can meet existing and potential obligations for a period of 12 months (art. 9 par. 1 sentence 1 Regulation 1008/2008 / EC). The order used by the legislator "suspends or withdraws" is not accidental. The President of ULC (Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego) should first of all recognize the suspension of the concession and then its withdrawal. According to the official statement of the Civil Aviation Office "Any suspension or withdrawal of a concession held is made within the framework of the procedure provided for in the administrative procedure code. In the event of a premise initiating the discussed proceedings, the carrier is notified in writing of the initiation of proceedings regarding the suspension or revocation of the license held. After collecting the evidence in the case, the carrier will be notified of this fact, as well as a deadline for submitting additional explanations, motions and statements regarding the collected evidence, as well as the demands made. If the conducted procedure confirms that the requirements for obtaining the concession are not met, an administrative decision will be issued regarding the suspension or revocation of the concession." The withdrawal or suspension of the license results in the loss or suspension of the conducting licensed business activity. The procedural provisions of the lex fori determine whether the decision to withdraw or suspend the concession is immediately enforce

What is very important from the point of view of the subject analyzed in this opinion, the legal rules leave the way between the maintance of the concession and its loss. The competent concession authority - in the event of suspension of the concession - may, by a separate decision, grant the air carrier a temporary license, for a period not exceeding 12 months, until the financial reorganization of the Community air carrier, provided that three conditions are cumulatively fulfilled. First of all, there is no security risk. This is the broadly understood safety of aviation operations. Poor financial situation of the carrier must not affect the efficiency of the aircraft, proper passenger service, stability of the flight schedule, etc. Secondly, the temporary license reflects, if applicable, any changes to the AOC air carrier's certificate. This obviously applies if there were changes to the AOC certificate. As mentioned earlier, the possession of a valid certificate is the basis for obtaining a concession. Thirdly, there is a real prospect of rebuilding the carrier's financial situation during this period (Article 9 sec 1 sentence 2 of Regulation 1008/2008 / EC). In other words, the broadly understood restructuring of an air carrier should be stabilized over a twelve-month period. What does the real perspective mean? This may be about the real likelihood of a deal with creditors, finding an investor, debt to equity, etc. The legislator - which is very important - allows entities that restructure, including through existing court procedures, to perform aviation operations. After expiry of the temporary license, the President of ULC should announce the expiry of the decision to suspend the concession

In accordance with art. 9 sec. 2 of Regulation 1008/2008 / EC whenever there are clear indications of financial problems or in the event of opening insolvency proceedings or similar proceedings against a Community air carrier licensed by the competent licensing authority, the authority shall immediately make a detailed assessment of the financial situation and verify the financial situation on the basis of its results. within three months, the status of concession so that: withdraws the license, suspends the concession, grants temporary license. The competent authority of the national aviation administration issuing the licenses shall inform the Commission of its decisions relating to the status of the concession. According to Polish regulations, if there are clear signs of financial problems of the carrier, referred to in art. 9 sec. 2 of Regulation No. 1008/2008 / EC, or in the event of opening bankruptcy proceedings against an air carrier licensed by the President of ULC, the President of ULC without undue delay makes a detailed assessment of the financial position of the carrier (Article 171b sec. 1 The Aviation Law). Commented provision of art. 171b sec. 1 The Aviation Law should be read in such a way that it also concerns the case of opening restructuring proceedings. The initiation of proceedings by the President of ULC is obligatory.

 

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