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.

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).

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.

The classification from what point on an aircraft operator in European Union emission trading system (EU ETS 1) is subject to emissions trading is different for commercial and non-commercial aircraft operators (see answer LV 003):

For non-commercial aircraft operators who do not exclusively perform flights pursuant to Annex 1 Part 2 Number 33 littera a to I of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Allowance Trading Act (TEHG) the following threshold applies from 01/01/2013:

• If less than 1,000 tonnes of CO2 are emitted per year non-commercial operators are not subject to emissions trading for that year.

For commercial aircraft operators who do not exclusively perform flights pursuant to Annex 1 Part 2 Number 33 littera a to i TEHG, the following thresholds apply:

• If less than 10,000 tonnes of CO2 are emitted per year or fewer than 243 flights are performed in the periods from January to April, May to August and September to December within one year, commercial aircraft operators are not subject to emissions trading for that year.

Important: In order to judge if an aircraft operator is above or below the relevant thresholds, the extended scope of the emission trading system (ETS) Directive (“extended full scope”) is applicable, not the temporary reduced scope (see answer LV 005). Furthermore, to determine the number of flights performed and the amount of annual emissions, all flights that do not fall under an exemption pursuant to Annex 1 Part 2 Number 33 (including those free of charge) but have been conducted by an aircraft operator must be taken into account.

The following three geographical areas of application are relevant for the European Union emission trading system (EU ETS 1):

• Extended Full Scope: includes all flights departing from or arriving at the European Economic Area (EEA); relevant for the consideration whether an aircraft operator is subject to the EU ETS 1 (see answer LV004)
• Full scope: includes all flights departing from or arriving at the EEA; excluding flights from Switzerland or the United Kingdom (UK) of Great Britain and Nothern Ireland into the EEA; decisive for the consideration of whether an aircraft operator can apply a simplified reporting procedure according to Article 55 of the Monitoring Regulation (MVO) or Article 28a paragraph 6 of the Emissions Trading Directive (see answers LV033 and LV038)
• Reduced scope: includes all flights departing from or arriving at the EEA, as well as flights from the EEA to Switzerland and from the EEA to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Nothern Ireland relevant for the reporting and submission obligation

In the following, the reduced scope is explained in detail, as its correct application is crucial for the fulfilment of the reporting and submission obligation.

The limitation of the reporting and surrender obligation applies according to Regulations (EU) Number 421/2014 and (EU) Number 2017/2392 for the reporting years 2013 to 2023. According to these regulations, emissions from flights between an aerodrome in the EEA and an aerodrome outside the EEA are no longer subject to the reporting and surrender obligation. For flights to, from and within outermost regions special regulations apply, which are described under b).

a) The geographical scope includes the EEA-territories of

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republik
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• United Kingdom (until 31/12/2020)

on the European continent.

The following territories of Member States are also part of the EEA: Ceuta and Melilla (Spain), Aland Islands (Finland), Jan Mayen (Norway) and Gibraltar (United Kingdom until 31/12/2020).

Special regulations apply for Switzerland (from 01/01/2020) and United Kingdom (from 01/01/2021):

On 01/01/2020, the agreement on linking the emissions trading systems of Switzerland and the European Union entered into force. Through the linking, emissions from flights from the EEA to Switzerland are subject to the reporting and surrender obligation of the EU ETS 1.

Due to the UK's withdrawal from the EU, the UK will also no longer participate in the EU ETS 1 from 01/01/2021. However, due to the trade agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom, flights from the EEA to the United Kingdom will continue to be covered by the EU ETS 1.

So the reduced scope of earlier years differs from the current status.

b) Outermost regions: The European Union (EU) currently includes nine outermost regions in the meaning of Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union:

1. Canary Islands (Spain)
2. French Guiana (France)
3. Guadeloupe (France)
4. Martinique (France)
5. Mayotte (France)
6. Réunion (France)
7. Saint-Martin (France)
8. Azores (Portugal)
9. Madeira (Portugal)

Emissions from flights between aerodromes in the same outermost region (for example within the Canary Islands) remain fully covered under the EU ETS 1. However, pursuant to Commission Regulation (EU) Number 421/2014 an Comission Regulation (EU) Number 2017/2392 flights between an aerodrome located in an outermost region and an aerodrome in another outermost region (for example between Madeira and the Canary Islands) are temporarily excluded from the geographical scope of the EU ETS 1 for the reporting years 2013 to 2023 in terms of reporting and surrendering obligations. The same applies to flights between EEA-territories on the European continent and outermost regions.

c) The following countries and territories of EEA Member States are excluded from the EU ETS 1 for 2013 to 2023. UK territories are also excluded after 2023:

• Greenland
• Faeroe Islands
• French Polynesia
• New Caledonia
• Saint Barthélemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon
• Wallis and Futuna
• Aruba
• Bonaire
• Saba
• Sint Eustatius
• Curaçao
• Sint Maarten
• Svalbard
• Anguilla (UK)
• Bermuda (UK)
• British Antarctic Territory (UK)
• British Indian Ocean Territory (UK)
• British Virgin Islands (UK)
• Cayman Islands (UK)
• Falkland Islands (UK)
• Bailiwick of Guernsey (UK)
• Isle of Man (UK)
• Jersey (UK)
• Montserrat (UK)
• Pitcairn (UK)
• Henderson (UK)
• Ducie and Oeno Islands (UK)
• Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (UK)
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK)
• Turks and Caicos Islands (UK)
• Akrotiri (UK)
• Dhekelia (UK)

Emissions from flights to, from or between these airports are not subject to emissions trading for the reporting years 2013 to 2023. For UK territories this also applies after 2023.

d) Specifics of certain airports

Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg

Flights to and from the Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg EuroAirport (ICAO airport codes LFSB and LSZM) are subject to the EU ETS 1 because the airport is situated in French territory.

Ercan (Northern Cyprus)

The Ercan Airport (ICAO airport code LCEN) is situated in the Turkish Cypriot north of the island in, and as known by Turkey, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is not internationally recognised as a state – except by Turkey. Consequently, the airport is not in the territory of an EU Member State as the Republic of Cyprus exercises no authority there.

Ercan Airport is therefore treated in the EU ETS 1 as a non-EU airport.

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is no longer an EEA territory since 01/01/2021 and is also not covered by the trade agreement between the EU and UK. Flights between the EEA and Gibraltar are therefore currently not subject to the reduced scope. However, on 05/10/2021, the European Council authorised the opening of negotiations on an agreement with UK in relation to Gibraltar. If there are any changes regarding flights between the EEA and Gibraltar after the conclusion of a corresponding agreement, we will inform accordingly.

Ferry flights are aviation activities subject to reporting if they are pursuant to Section 3 (9) in conjunction with Annex 1 Part 2 Number 33 Greenhouse Gas Emission Allowance Trading Act (TEHG).

More information for the interpretation of the aviation activities can be found in the Commission Decision of 08/06/2009 on the detailed interpretation of Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC of
the aviation activities ("interpretation paper"), which is mandatory for all Member States.

Ferry flights subject to emissions trading must be monitored and reported. Emissions allowances must be surrendered for the emissions they cause.

Monitoring plans and emission reports may initially be submitted to DEHSt in German or English.

DEHSt reserves the right to request a German translation for questions material to making a decision.

If an aircraft operator submits a monitoring plan or emissions report to DEHSt in a language other than German or English, a translation should be provided upon submission. Otherwise, DEHSt will request translation from the aircraft operator.

In justified cases, DEHSt may request a notarized translation or a translation completed by a publicly appointed/certified interpreter/translator. The operator may himself also submit such a certified translation to increase the transparency of the documents and to minimize follow-up questions.

The notification will be in German (official language).

Yes, the use of the Virtual Post Office is required.

Pursuant to Section 23 of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Allowance Trading Act (TEHG) the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) is authorized to require the electronic form for the transmission of monitoring plans, emission reports and other communications. DEHSt has exercised this authority in a notification dated 05/08/2014, published in the electronic Federal Gazette on 12/08/2014, and the guidelines for the use of the Virtual Post Office, published on its website (see Electronic Communication).

Pursuant to the Signature Act (SigG), the process of electronic communication with an "in-writing" requirement, necessitates the use of a qualified electronic signature.

More on the process in general, acquiring a signature card and background information can be found on the DEHSt website (see Electronic Signature).

Monitoring plans and emission reports not transmitted by VPS but for example by mail or e-mail will not be processed by DEHSt.

No.

The use of German Emissions Trading Authority's electronic form templates (Form Management System, FMS) is required for the preparation of monitoring plans and emission reports.

Pursuant to Section 23 Greenhouse Gas Emission Allowance Trading Act, German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) is authorized to require the use of the electronic form templates provided. DEHSt has exercised this authority in a notification dated 05/08/2014, published in the electronic Federal Gazette on 12/08/2014, and in the guidelines published on its website.

The monitoring plans and emission reports must therefore be submitted in electronic form. The DEHSt website has more information about proceeding with the creation of monitoring plans and emission reports especially regarding the use of the FMS.

All aircraft operators (commercial and non-commercial) that are subject to the emissions trading and are allowed to use a simplified procedure (see answer LV 033) may make use of an appropriate estimation tool in the emissions reporting and estimate their fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.The tools shall be used only if they are approved by the European Commission. The approved tools must be used in their respectively valid version.

The tools must be able to process all the relevant Eurocontrol data and to prevent an underestimation of emissions. The tools shall be used only if they are approved by the European Commission. The approved tools must be used in their respectively valid version.

The European Commission has approved the so-called Small Emitters Tool (SET) for use in the European Union emission trading system (EU ETS 1) (see Commission Regulation (EU) Number 606/2010 of 09/07/2010).

The tool was developed by Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. The tool and a description is available free of charge on the Eurocontrol website. There is also the possibility for an instant delivery registration if you wish to receive each release of the tool by e-mail. When reporting emissions, care must be taken to always use the current version for the corresponding reporting year.

Another option for using the simplified procedure is the Eurocontrol Support Facility. For this purpose, aircraft operators must set up an access and the emissions report must be prepared entirely with data from the Eurocontrol Support Facility. When using this procedure, the verification of the emission report can be waived (see answer LV 038). Using the Small Emitters Tool is not sufficient for a waiver of the verification; in this case the emission report still has to be verified by independent third parties.

If you cannot find your monitoring plan in the picklist (opened via "Select monitoring plan") of the form app for monitoring plans, please first check whether you have created the monitoring plan under a different user ID. If this is the case, you have the following options:

Option 1)

Please log in to the form app for reporting under the same user ID you used for creating the monitoring plan.
The required monitoring plan will then be available to you in the picklist (opened via "Create report") for you to create your report.

Option 2)

In the monitoring plan form app, you may forward the editing rights for the monitoring plan to the user ID with which you intend to create the report.
When you open the reporting form app, the monitoring plan will be available to you in the picklist (opened via "Create report") for you to create a report.

Option 3)

If the monitoring plan is available in XML format, please open the monitoring plan form app.
Please use the same user name and ID as for the reporting software.
Then select "Import plan" and follow the instructions.
Now return to the form app to create the report.
The imported monitoring plan should now be available in your picklist (opened via "Create report") for you to create a report.

Read more in the manual on the software for the compilation of monitoring plans Chapter 3.3.3.

A monitoring plan is considered "suitable" for creating a report if certain compulsory fields have been filled in and you have the editing rights. Suitability in technical terms does not reveal anything about the quality of a monitoring plan or whether it can be approved.

Please proceed as follows:

If you receive the message "unsuitable", please open the form app for monitoring plans and log in.

• Please check in your picklist (opened via "Select monitoring plan" in the left-hand side menu) whether you have the editing rights. You should be able to find the information in the "editing rights" column of your picklist. Make sure the editing rights are assigned to you if necessary.

• Please open the relevant monitoring plan and check for fields marked in red (compulsory fields). Compete if necessary. Make sure the "EU identifier" field has been updated.

• Then return to the form app for reporting. The edited monitoring plan should now appear in the picklist as "suitable" for creating a report.

Read more in the revised manual for Software Monitoring Concepts.

Aviation reporting is based on detailed data according to an airport pair. Each airport of an airport pair is identified by its International Civil Aviation Organization airport code (ICAO code). The Form Management System (FMS) contains nearly all ICAO-codes necessary for reporting. However, if an ICAO code needed for reporting is missing, it must be manually added in FMS by the operator. To do so, first select the “Emissions report” form and please answer "Yes" to the question "Did the operator perform flights departing from or arriving at airports without an ICAO-Code?” Secondly, the relevant airport must be entered into the form "Non-ICAO airports". The airport must be described with the greatest possible accuracy. If a valid ICAO code that is not listed in the FMS is available, please enter it. The entry (airport) is automatically assigned a standard surrogate code of type "NXXX" (X stands for any digit between 0 and 9).

This surrogate code must be used when entering any airport pair details so that the airport can be identified. The procedure is also described in the Guidelines for reporting. Further guidance on the use of FMS (and the "Non-ICAO airports" form) can be found in the user manual for electronic emissions reporting software in aviation.

We are happy to enter information on missing ICAO airport codes in the FMS list. Please provide relevant updates via our customer service or in the report itself. DEHSt will make every effort to add the missing ICAO airport codes to the FMS list as soon as possible. At the very least, the ICAO airport codes reported by you will be available in the report application for the next reporting year.

For the reporting years from 2013 on, those aircraft operators who operate fewer than 243 flights per period in three consecutive four-month periods within one year and those aircraft operators who operate flights with total annual emissions less than 25,000 tonnes of CO2 per year can use a simplified procedure (see Article 55 Monitoring Regulation).

For the purpose of verifying whether an aircraft operator is above or below one of these two relevant thresholds, the fundamental geographical scope of the Emissions Trading Directive ("full scope") is relevant and not the reduced geographical scope.

In addition, for the reporting years starting in 2017, aircraft operators operating flights with total annual emissions of less than 3,000 tonnes of CO2 per year relative to the reduced geographical scope can now also use a simplified procedure (Article 28a, paragraph 4 Emissions Trading Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (as of 5 June 2023).

Furthermore, to determine the number of flights performed and the amount of annual emissions, all flights that do not fall under an exemption pursuant to Annex 1 Part 2 Number 33 (including those free of charge) but have been conducted by an aircraft operator must be taken into account.

Yes.

Based on the tonne-kilometre data from 2010, a "new" or reduced allocation volume has been calculated for the years 2013 to 2020, taking into account the reduced geographical scope according to Regulations (EU) Number 421/2014 and (EU) Number 2017/2392 and the original benchmark.

However, due to the linking of the European Union emission trading system (EU ETS 1) with the Swiss emission trading system from 01/01/2020 and the withdrawal of United Kingdom (UK) of Great Britain and Nothern Ireland from the EU on 31/12/2020 with the entry into force of a subsequent trade agreement on 01/01/2021, the reduced scope of application has changed in each case (see answer LV005) and adjusted allocation volumes had to be calculated.

From 01/01/2021, the linear reduction factor pursuant to Article 9 of the Emissions Trading Directive shall additionally be applied to the reduced quantity of the year 2020 on a yearly basis. The reduction factor is a constant absolute value corresponding to 2.2 percent of an operator's individual annual allocation volume in 2020.

Allowances that are not allocated due to this recalculation will be deleted and not auctioned or set aside.

For the reporting years 2013-2016, Commission Regulation (EU) Number 421/2014 .introduced a reduced scope (see answer LV 005). In order to judge if an aircraft operator is above or below the thresholds for being subject to emissions trading (see answer LV 004), the original scope of the ETS Directive (“full scope”) is applicable, not the temporary reduced scope according to Commission Regulation (EU) Number 421/2014. Furthermore, to determine the number of flights performed and the amount of annual emissions, all non-exempted flights pursuant to Annex 1 Part 2 Number 33 (including those free of charge) conducted by an aircraft operator must be taken into account. Both scopes (reduced scope and full scope) are described in detail in answer LV 005.

Please check for every reporting year if you are above or below the thresholds for being subject to emissions trading (see answer LV 004) and for being a small emitter (see answer LV 033), Aircraft operators don't have to update their monitoring plans because of the reduced scope 2013-2016.

The answer depends on the timeframe by which no flights subject to emissions trading (see answer LV 004) have been performed. In case no such flights have been performed within the whole legal year, the national administrator sets the corresponding aircraft operator holding account to “excluded” status pursuant to Article 9 (6) Commission Regulation (EU) Number 1122/2019 (EU Registry Regulation)

Given the fact that pursuant to Article 50 (2) European Union Registry Regulation, excluded aircraft operator holding accounts do not receive an allocation for that year, the allocation of free allowances is dispended until flights subject to emissions trading are performed again and therefore the status of the aircraft operator holding account is changed to “open” status again. Affected aircraft operators will be informed by the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) before the corresponding aircraft operator holding account status will be changed to “excluded” status.

Aircraft operators that have emitted less than 25,000 tonnes of CO2 in a calendar year (in relation to the original geographical scope) or less than 3,000 tonnes of CO2 (in relation to the reduced geographical scope) may waive the verification of their emission report if this was entirely created using data from the ETS Eurocontrol Support Facility. The use of the Small Emitters Tool (see answer LV 010) is not sufficient to waive verification.

It is not necessary to change the monitoring plan in order to waive verification.

If verification is waived legitimately, the emission report can be sent directly to the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) after being created in Form Management System (FMS). For this purpose, Aircraft operators, instead of the verifiers, must create a zip file from FMS. The relevant option has been set up in FMS. The zip file and all supporting documents, if any, must then be forwarded to DEHSt in an electronically signed VPS message.

If verification has been legitimately waived, VET values entered into the Union Registry do not need to be confirmed by verifiers. The registrar will provide confirmation. Please note that this is a purely technical confirmation unrelated to the accuracy of the VET values since the competent authority can only issue a statement after having thoroughly examined the content of emissions reports.