Official Journal of the European Union

C 148/13

(Case C-120/10)

2010/C 148/20

Language of the case: French

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: European Air Transport SA

Defendants: Collège d'Environnement de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale

Questions referred

1.Must the concept of ‘operating restriction’ in Article 2(e) of Directive 2002/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 March 2002 on the establishment of rules and procedures with regard to the introduction of noise-related operating restrictions at Community airports be interpreted as including rules imposing limits on noise levels, as measured on the ground, to be complied with by aircraft overflying territories located near the airport and providing that any person responsible for exceeding those limits may incur a penalty, it being understood that aircraft are required to keep to the designated routes and comply with the landing and take-off procedures laid down by other administrative authorities without taking account of the need to comply with those noise limitations?

2.Must Articles 2(e) and 4(4) of Directive 2002/30 be interpreted as meaning that all ‘operating restrictions’ must be ‘performance-based’, or do those provisions allow other provisions, relating to environmental protection, to restrict access to the airport on the basis of the noise level, as measured on the ground, to be observed by aircraft overflying territories located near the airport, it being provided that any person responsible for exceeding that level may incur a penalty?

3.Must Article 4(4) of Directive 2002/30 be interpreted as precluding the existence, in addition to performance-based operating restrictions based on the noise emitted by aircraft, of rules on environmental protection which impose limits on noise levels, as measured on the ground, to be complied with by aircraft overflying territories located near the airport?

4.Must Article 6(2) of Directive 2002/30 be interpreted as precluding rules which impose limits on noise levels, as measured on the ground, to be complied with by aircraft overflying territories located near the airport, and which provide that any person exceeding those limits may incur a penalty, where those rules are capable of being infringed by aircraft which comply with the standards in Volume 1, part II, chapter 4 of Annex 16 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation?

Language of the case: French

(1) OJ 2002 L 85, p. 40.