The EU General Court annulled business aviation's green taxonomy exclusion. The ruling was handed down on 24 June 2026 in Luxembourg. It strikes down Section 3.21 of the Climate Delegated Act.
The case was brought by Dassault Aviation and Daher. The European Business Aviation Association intervened in support. The European Commission had defended its 2023 carve-out, which kept business aircraft manufacturing outside the EU Taxonomy framework for sustainable activities.
The court found that the Commission had not justified the exclusion. The criterion targeted aircraft operation rather than manufacture, the activity actually regulated. It also held that the Commission had not fully considered the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels.
Case T-77/24 was filed on 14 February 2024. EBAA joined as intervener in July 2024. The contested provision had grouped business aircraft manufacturing alongside commercial widebodies on operational-emissions criteria, without separate treatment for SAF eligibility or mission profile.
For Dassault, the ruling restores Falcon manufacturing's eligibility for EU sustainable financing. Daher's TBM and Kodiak production lines fall within the same scope. EBAA said the judgment 'restores a more evidence-based and technology-neutral approach to sustainable finance rules'.
Dassault Aviation welcomed the annulment in a 24 June statement, noting that the court recognised 'the flexibility, speed, and connectivity of business aircraft'. The Commission can appeal to the Court of Justice within two months. Failing that, the annulment becomes definitive and the Climate Delegated Act will require revision.
Source: Dassault Aviation press release, 24 June 2026; Corporate Jet Investor; Aviation International News; Aerospace Global News.