The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that the European Commission's listing of aircraft subject to a European Union flight ban can be challenged before the bloc's courts, setting aside a lower court's dismissal of a case brought by Kyrgyz charter carrier, Global 8 Airlines.

In its October 8, 2026, judgment, Europe's highest court ruled that the Commission’s decision to list two Global 8 aircraft under the EU flight ban could be binding and could therefore be challenged in court.

The CJEU referred the matter back to the General Court, which must decide whether Global 8 Airlines can proceed with its challenge and whether the Commission has the authority to ban the aircraft.

The backstory

The case concerns two Beechcraft 390 Premier IA light business jets that Global 8 Airlines purchased from a Russian company in September 2022 and February 2023. The aircraft were subsequently registered in Kyrgyzstan as EX-88012 (msn RB274) and EX-88011 (msn RB120), respectively.

The 22-year-old EX‑88011 was never flown and remains stored at Berlin Brandenburg, according to ch-aviation data. It was delivered new to now-defunct Avantair and flown by Jet Airlines, now-idle Airfix Aviation, and Aviatis before joining Global 8.

According to court documents, EX-88012 performed several flights from Russia to the EU for Global 8 Airlines. It is currently stored at Munich Augsburg.

After Eurocontrol rejected a flight plan for EX-88012 from Augsburg to Budapest on February 24, 2023, the Commission informed the airline on March 20 that both aircraft were on the EU flight ban list.

The restrictions stem from EU sanctions imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, under which aircraft owned, chartered, or otherwise controlled by Russian persons or entities, as well as Russian-registered aircraft and aircraft operated by Russian carriers, are prohibited from landing in, taking off from, or overflying EU territory, subject to specified exceptions.

The airline challenged the ban in the EU's General Court, but on April 29, 2024, the court dismissed the case, ruling that the Commission's decision to list the aircraft could not be challenged in court. On July 9, 2024, Global 8 Airlines took the matter on appeal to the CJEU, which heard the case on December 17, 2025, and an Advocate General delivered an opinion on March 12, 2026.

CJEU ruling

The Commission had argued that it had not made a formal decision and that its list simply helped member states enforce the flight ban. It said the actual restrictions resulted from Eurocontrol rejecting flight plans on behalf of member states.

However, the CJEU found that the evidence showed the Commission had played a leading role in deciding which aircraft should be listed. An extract provided during the appeal referred to a "Commission decision to list aircraft" dated February 22, 2023, and gave specific reasons for including Global 8 Airlines' two aircraft.

The court also pointed to emails in which the Commission told the airline that "we see no other option but to continue with the grounding of the aircraft" and later said there was "no reason to lift the ban".

The CJEU concluded that the list did more than share information. By identifying specific aircraft subject to the ban, the Commission had taken a decision with direct consequences for others.

The CJEU therefore rejected the Commission's arguments that no decision existed, that it could not be challenged in court, or that it was not the Commission's responsibility.