Awarded by the hospitals of Bastia and Ajaccio to the Altagna company last spring, the public tender for aerial medical evacuations was challenged by Oyonnair, the competitor company ousted during the tender.
Seized by the losing company, the summary judge of the administrative court of Bastia a canceled on May 20 the procedure for awarding this air transport contract. The hospital establishments as well as Altagna companies then seized the State Councilwho just got back a decision that confirms in all respects that of the judge of Bastia.
First of all as regards the form of the call for tenders. The choice of the a “procedure with negotiation”used according to the hospitals due to the complexity of the market concerned, it was not essential, confirms the State Council. “The circumstances invoked by the hospitals […] drawn from some technical particularities of the envisaged services, which appear to be largely standardized, did not allow for the characterization of a complexity such as to justify recourse to the negotiated procedure”. so write the judges in their decision.
According to the applicants, Oyonnair did not meet the technical requirements imposed by the market. The hospital centers had asked the candidates to be able to present, “to pour prove the availability of the final aircraft within a maximum period of 12 months from the start date of the execution of the contract”, “a sincere and genuine document produced by the seller or the lessor of the aircraft”.
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However, the State Council observes, “the Oyonnair company having produced a letter from a supplier stating its ability to supply it with two aircraft by June 2023”the judge of Bastia was able to consider, “from a sovereign appreciation […] that Oyonnair has justified, with a sufficient degree of plausibility, the availability of the last aircraft it proposed to purchase at the end of the transitional period”.
The last point of attack by the hospitals and Altagna: the impossibility for the Oyonnair company to confirm that it would have the number of pilots necessary to carry out its mission on the market start date.
Also in this case the Council of State rejected the thesis, deeming the file null and void “it does not indicate that the Oyonnair company would not be able to have pilots to fly its planes.” Consequently, the cancellation of the award of the air medical evacuation contract was confirmed by the State Council.
The whole procedure will have to be restarted locally.
