Reasoned order of the Tribunal in relation to Bristol Airport Limited’s application for permission to appeal the Tribunal judgment dated 7 April 2026 ([2026] CAT 30).
The Applicant raised six grounds of appeal: (i) that the Tribunal applied an insufficiently intense standard of review and failed to explain its reasoning; (ii) that the Tribunal erred in its interpretation of sections 19 and 20 of the Subsidy Control Act 2022; (iii) that the Tribunal failed properly to consider whether Cardiff International Airport was “ailing or insolvent”; (iv) that the Tribunal erred in not concluding that the subsidy was one for restructuring; (v) that the Tribunal erred in its application of the subsidy control principles; and (vi) that the Tribunal incorrectly applied section 28 of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
The Tribunal dismissed all grounds of the application. In summary, this was because, taking each ground in turn: (i) the Tribunal considered that it had correctly set out and applied the established judicial review principles; (ii) the Tribunal properly considered the plain wording of the relevant provisions and, at some length, how they fitted within the Act as a whole and Part 2 in particular; (iii) in light of its conclusion on the Applicant’s original second ground of review, this issue was not determinative, and in any event the Applicant failed to advance a coherent basis for any alleged error; (iv) the Applicant did not properly explain how the Tribunal had erred in its assessment of the purpose of the subsidy; (v) the Applicant’s arguments in relation to the principles amounted to an attempt to re‑litigate matters on which it had been unsuccessful at trial, adopting a similar kitchen sink approach; and (vi) the Applicant’s ground was inconsistent with the plain wording of section 28.
