Malta’s Court of Appeal has upheld a landmark competition law ruling against Enemalta Corporation, confirming that the state-owned energy provider abused its dominant position in the aviation fuel infrastructure market at Malta International Airport.
The ruling, delivered on 23 June 2025, confirms earlier findings by the Civil Court (Commercial Section), which had supported the conclusions of the Office for Competition. The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Attard Services Ltd and Shell Aviation Ltd, who alleged that Enemalta restricted competition by denying fair access to critical Jet A1 fuel storage and throughput facilities.
Abuse of Dominance and Margin Squeeze
Following a detailed investigation, the Office for Fair Competition (as it was then known) found that Enemalta, which held a monopoly over upstream infrastructure essential for aviation refuelling services, engaged in an illegal margin squeeze between 2004 and 2008. Specifically, the price it charged competitors for access to its infrastructure exceeded or eroded the margin between that cost and the retail price it offered to airlines for its own downstream refuelling services.
This practice effectively excluded rival operators from the market, making it financially unviable for them to compete—an infringement of both national and EU competition rules, namely Article 9 of Malta’s Competition Act and Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
Court Rulings and Impact
In its 2020 ruling, the Civil Court (Commercial Section) upheld the findings of the Office for Competition, affirming that Enemalta’s conduct amounted to a serious breach of competition law. Enemalta appealed the decision, but the Court of Appeal has now dismissed that appeal in full, confirming the abuse.
The judgment marks one of Malta’s most significant competition law cases to date involving infrastructure access and margin squeeze—a complex abuse form more commonly litigated at the EU level.
This ruling reinforces the principle that dominant firms, especially those operating critical infrastructure, must ensure fair access and avoid pricing strategies that eliminate rivals. It also affirms the Competition Office’s enforcement capabilities and the judiciary’s support for maintaining a level playing field in essential service markets.
Source: https://mccaa.org.mt/Section/Content?contentId=13225
