THE MINISTER for Transport has moved to "fast-track" a legal challenge by Ryanair to the Government's decision awarding Aer Arann a public contract to provide a scheduled air service between Dublin and Knock airports.
Ryanair initiated its action in the High Court in September. Mr Justice Peter Kelly yesterday, with the consent of Ryanair, granted the Minister's application to transfer the proceedings to the Commercial Court, which fast-tracks commercial cases.
The action will be heard on January 20th and Aer Arann has said it will abide by the court's decision.
The contract for the Dublin-Knock service was originally awarded to CityJet following a tendering process. After that airline withdrew from the contract last July, the Department of Transport said Aer Arann would operate the service, which began on October 1st last and is to run until July 2011.
Ryanair claims the offer to Aer Arann could not have been made in the absence of a public tender unless it agreed to the same conditions as had been agreed with CityJet. It says a different contract to the one agreed with CityJet has been agreed between the Minister and Aer Arann and it wants orders quashing Noel Dempsey's decision awarding the contract to Aer Arann and compelling him to instigate a new tendering process.
Ryanair did not initially submit a tender but expressed an interest to Mr Dempsey after CityJet withdrew. On September 2nd, the Minister offered the contract to Aer Arann on the basis of its combined tender of €12.9 million for services from Dublin to Knock and Dublin to Derry over the next three years.