The court confirmed Ryanair’s position that the E101 certificates issued by Ireland for pilots and cabin crew temporarily based in Marseille are biding on the French authorities and the French courts, as previously ruled by the European Court of Justice.
The Supreme Court also canceled all convictions against Ryanair, and returned the case to the Paris Court of Appeal for rehearing. Ryanair said the ruling now obliges the French authorities to accept the Irish E101 certificates issued from 2006 to 2010.
Ryanair’s Chief People Officer Eddie Wilson said: “We welcome this favourable ruling from the French Supreme Court which fully respects the earlier favourable ECJ ruling in the A-Rosa case.
“We believe that this decision will now lead to an early and favourable conclusion of the criminal cases and tax demands in Aix-en-Provence.
“This should in due course lead to the repayment of up to €13 million of social tax payments, which Ryanair was required to put into escrow to cover two such cases in 2014 and 2017.
“We welcome this French Supreme Court ruling, which now paves the way for Ryanair to consider re-entering the French market.
“We are already in discussions with a number of French airports, and the French Ministry of Labour, which we hope will lead to Ryanair announcing some bases in France in the near future, but with pilots and cabin crew based in France, on local French contracts, and paying their social taxes in France rather than Ireland.”
Ryanair has asked its lawyers to expedite the rehearing.
