CNFAS statement - Wednesday 25 November 2020

The application to keep Sallanches airfield open is dismissed by the Conseil d'État: a Pyrrhic "victory" (very costly for the victor, who is left with a field of ruins)

The urgent application filed by the CNFAS, together with the Sallanches club and the users' association, was rejected by the Conseil d'État(see the attached order). The application sought to suspend the minister's abrupt closure decision. The rejection does not concern the legal merits of the case but, according to the Conseil d'État, the absence of urgency in suspending the decision pending the ruling on the merits.

So it is the most practical arguments we put forward that were not accepted. We stressed that the authorities had decided not to destroy the runway before the interim ruling, that the local DSAC itself produced a technical study stating how important this airfield is for safety and the need to provide an alternative, and that the panel of experts appointed by the applicants established the need to keep this runway as an emergency option, validated by history and by the good practice of an airfield that has existed for more than 100 years. It is precisely this safety imperative for aircraft of all types that, in our eyes, justified the urgency. These arguments were not accepted, and we leave you to judge the order at its true worth: " microlights will be able to land at the Sallanches heliport ", which is located… on a rooftop! That leaves those who fly rather thoughtful… Claiming, as the minister's lawyers did, that every "superabundant" means was used to avoid the closure may raise a wry smile!

We do not challenge the ruling, and everyone involved has come together to fight a battle that we consider legitimate. Alternative solutions will have to be proposed, and the federations will be there to support a constructive approach, provided we have counterparts willing to listen to us. It is of course possible to govern through silence and wait for things to blow over, hoping too that public opinion will tacitly go along with this tendency to clip our wings by closing airfields. That is a bad calculation.

Although the urgent request to suspend the ministerial order has been rejected, the appeal for abuse of power is still to be judged and remains pending before the Conseil d'État. The fight is therefore not over!

The CNFAS

• 9 federations, 140 000 members, 3 200 clubs, 24 000 powered aircraft, 2 000 gliders.
• Public-interest associations recognised by the Ministries of Transport and Sport, the federations offer young people in our country, on a voluntary basis, an ideal, aeronautical training, an exciting and demanding way of life, and above all a professional future.
• The federations play a very important role in France's place in the aeronautical world: success in sporting competitions, supervising young people in aeronautical activities, training pilots, training engineers and technicians, innovation through amateur building, and preserving flying heritage.