The state of Carinthia will not exercise the call option on the Lilihill shares at Klagenfurt Airport, but the arguments continue behind the scenes and even in court. It is about leasing land with a total area of ​​130 hectares to other Lilihill Group companies.

The supervisory board, in which the private majority owner logically has the upper hand due to the fact that they hold around 75 percent of the shares, gave the green light for this. The contracts have a term of 23 years and the airport should not be able to terminate them prematurely. These are areas that, according to Lilihill, are not absolutely necessary for flight operations.

That doesn't suit the Carinthian investment management, the holding company of the state of Carinthia, which is assigned to the ÖVP state councilor Martin Gruber within the state government. A preliminary injunction was requested, which was obtained. The first hearing before the district court of Klagenfurt has already taken place, but there was no final decision.

At the same time, another procedure is being negotiated in Vienna. The hearing took place on Wednesday and the verdict is to be served on the parties in writing. It usually takes a few weeks for the lawyers to receive the decision electronically for their clients. Both parties then have the right to appeal, although it is unclear whether they will be pursued or not.

The KBV's position is that Lilihill wants to secure permanent access to the properties to be leased. The contract would be designed to the detriment of the airport and the airport's shareholders would take legal action against it. Governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) is now trying to bring everyone involved to one table. Talks are expected to take place next week. Representatives of the city of Klagenfurt and the governor himself will also take part. It is completely open whether this "round table with Lilihill" will lead to a solution and whether the legal disputes can be settled before any judgment is passed.