• Who is an aircraft operator? (LV 001)

  The aircraft operator is identified by the call sign (ATC call sign) used by air traffic control (ATC).

  The call sign is the ICAO identifier in Box 7 of the flight plan or, if not available, the registration marking of the aircraft (see Article 51(3) of the Monitoring Regulation). The identification of the aircraft operator through the ATC call sign generally also applies to flights that are conducted under lease agreements. In the case of wet-lease agreements for example, the lessee is the aircraft operator if the flight is conducted under his call sign.

  Further information

  • Monitoring Regulation and Accreditation and Verification Regulation (21/06/2012)
• Can an operator who is not named on the list of aircraft operators and their administering Member States be subject to the obligations of emissions trading? (LV 002)

  Yes.

  Inclusion in the European Union emission trading system (EU ETS 1) is exclusively linked to the performance of an aviation activity. The naming of an aircraft operator in the list of aircraft operators and their administering Member States is not a prerequisite for this.

  An aircraft operator who is not named on this list may therefore be subject to the obligations of emissions trading. In any case, he is obligated to check by himself whether these obligations apply to him. Pursuant to Section 2 (6) sentence 3 of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Act (TEHG), aircraft operators with a valid German operating license or those assigned to Federal Republic of Germany in the list of aircraft operators and their administering Member States are subject to the scope of the TEHG and are therefore administered by the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt).

  What is the list of aircraft operators and their administering Member States?

  The list of aircraft operators and their administering Member States specifies aircraft operators who on or after 01/01/2006, that is in the past, performed an aviation activity within the meaning of the Emissions Trading Directive and specifies the Member State responsible for them (confer Annex Commission Regulation (EC) Number 748/2009 of 05/08/2009, as amended). The purpose of the list of aircraft operators and their administering Member States list is merely to ensure that each aircraft operator clearly understands to which Member State he is assigned to, and that the Member States are aware of which aircraft operators they are responsible for. However, this list does not bindingly specify whether an aircraft operator is covered by the obligations of emissions trading (see information from the EU Commission on the status of the list of aircraft operators and their administering Member).

  Further information

  • List of Aircraft Operators and their Administering Member States (23/03/2023)
  • Informationen der Europäischen Kommission zur Verwaltungsmitgliedstaatenliste, zur prior compliance list und über Änderungen auf diesen Listen
  • TEHG 2011
• When does an aircraft operator perform a "commercial" operation? (LV 003)

  An aircraft operator is considered a commercial aircraft operator pursuant to Annex 1 Part 2 No. 33 lit. j TEHG if he performs remunerated scheduled or non-scheduled air transport services to the public, carrying passengers, cargo or mail for a fee (see Article 3(p) Directive 2003/87/EC).

  Commercial aircraft operators must have an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) - (see Annex 6 Part 1 to the Chicago Convention). Operators without such a certificate are therefore no commercial aircraft operators.

  On the other hand, operators with an AOC shall not automatically be considered as an commercial operator, but must actually provide the above mentioned air transport services to the public.

  For example, an operator of "business travel aircraft" is only considered commercial if the flights are offered to the public for money, without restriction to specific groups of people, and if the aircraft operator has an AOC. It is irrelevant whether tickets are available for individual seats or whether the air traffic service takes the form of the total capacity of the aircraft.

  The 'commercial operation' characteristic is based on the operator and not the flights performed by him.

  Non-commercial, within the meaning of the TEHG and the Emissions Trading Directive are also operators of "business travel aircraft" such as for internal company use, which offer their air services only to a limited group of people, for example, company employees and business partners, but not the public. Also considered non-commercial are aircraft operators who only perform empty flights (ferry flights), in which no passengers, freight or mail is transported.

  Further information

  • Act Adjusting the Legal Basis for the Further Development of Emissions Trading Act Adjusting the Legal Basis for the Further Development of Emissions Trading (21/07/2011, PDF, 282KB, File does not meet accessibility standards)
  • TEHG Anhang 1 vom 21.07.2011
  • Amendment of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066 on the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions (EU regulation 2022/388) of 08/03/2022
  • Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2067 of 19 December 2018 on the verification of data and on the accreditation of verifiers, consolidated text
  • Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066 of 19/12/2018 on the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions, consolidated text

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