‘Ministry of Transport, Posts and Telecommunications of the Slovak Republic

Guideline No 2/2007

of 22 January 2007

on granting limited traffic rights for the provision of air transport services by Community carriers

In accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 847/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the negotiation and implementation of air service agreements between Member States and third countries (1), the Ministry of Transport, Posts and Telecommunications of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as “the Ministry”) issues this Guideline:

Article 1

General Provisions

(1) This Guideline stipulates the procedure for granting traffic rights for the provision of air transport services by Community air carriers (hereinafter referred to as “Community carriers”) in cases where access to traffic rights is limited by an international agreement.

(2) This Guideline lays down the principles for granting traffic rights to Community carriers for the operation of air transport services on routes where such traffic rights are limited by international air services agreements between the Slovak Republic and third countries.

Article 2

Traffic Rights and Air Carriers' Need to Use Them

(1) Information on traffic rights and their utilisation on routes pursuant to international agreements between the Slovak Republic and States that are not European Union Member States (hereinafter referred to as “third States”) shall be available at the Ministry and on the www.telecom.gov.sk website (hereinafter referred to as “websites”).

(2) The Ministry shall also publish on the websites information on prepared negotiations concerning traffic rights in civil aviation between the Slovak Republic and third States.

(3) A Community carrier interested in providing air transport services on a route with limited traffic rights, or on a route between the Slovak Republic and a third State with which the Slovak Republic has not concluded an air services agreement, may inform the Ministry about its plans and requirements. The Ministry shall take this information into account when preparing for the negotiations on the air services agreement with the third State.

Article 3

Application for Granting of Traffic Rights

(1) When a Community carrier expresses interest in unused capacity on a route with limited traffic rights, the Ministry shall post on the websites a notice inviting applications for the granting of traffic rights to provide air transport services on such route. The Ministry shall as a rule send the notice electronically to all Community carriers operating air transport services on routes between the Slovak Republic and the related third State with limited traffic rights, or to the Community carrier that applied for information about the unused traffic rights. The notice shall specify the deadline for submitting the application for the granting of traffic rights.

(2) The application for the granting of traffic rights shall contain the following in particular:

a) at all events a copy of the valid air operator certificate (hereinafter referred to as “AOC”), and of the commercial licence if the licensing State issues one;

b) a description of the air transport services the Community carrier plans to operate on the route (weekly frequencies, aircraft to be used for the services, direct point-to-point service or indirect service, any planned intermediate points or points beyond, nature of service — seasonal or year-round);

c) the date of envisaged commencement of the planned services and, where appropriate, the duration of their operation;

d) the type of services (passenger transport, cargo transport, a combination thereof, or other);

e) customer access to the services and customer support (air-ticket sales network, electronic ticketing, credit card ticketing, services provided with internet support, etc.);

f) all connecting traffic;

g) tariff policy for on-route services;

h) if the Community carrier comes from a European Union Member State other than the Slovak Republic, the application shall contain information on the form of establishment of the said company or branch thereof on the territory of the Slovak Republic and information on the effective and real operation of air transport activity through a stable unit on that territory, in accordance with the specific rules (2)).

(3) The application shall be submitted to the Ministry in writing in Slovak or English by the deadline specified according to (1) above.

(4) If a Community carrier expresses interest in capacity on a route with limited traffic rights that has already been allocated, but the rights go unused during two consecutive scheduling periods (IATA flight periods), the Ministry shall publish a notice on the websites inviting applications for the granting of traffic rights to provide air transport services on the said route. The Ministry shall electronically invite the Community carrier that expressed interest in the unused limited traffic rights to submit, along with the application pursuant to (2), a justification and a detailed description concerning how it intends to effectively use the traffic rights concerned. The Ministry shall specify in such invitation the deadline for submitting the application for the granting of traffic rights.

Article 4

Granting of Traffic Rights

(1) The Ministry shall assess in detail the applications for the granting of traffic rights, and in the decision process:

I. shall in particular take into account: a) the completeness of the application pursuant to Article 3(2); b) the need to introduce more transport services for passengers and/or cargo; c) the need to inject competition into the market; d) satisfaction of all essential categories of public demand for services; e) the interest of regions located away from main European Union airports in the allocation of traffic rights to/from these regions; f) the provisions of agreements on air transport services between the Slovak Republic and third States and arrangements stemming from a memorandum or record of negotiations between the civil aviation authorities of the Slovak Republic and the third State involved; g) the potential impact of granting traffic rights to the Community carrier on the third State carrier and on the potential development of the air transport market on the route concerned; h) the air transport policy of the Slovak Republic and the potential effect of the new services on air transport development; i) the need to support air transit services crossing through the territory of the Slovak Republic; j) the hitherto utilisation of traffic rights by a Community carrier designated by the Slovak Republic and/or a carrier of the respective third State (flight schedule, frequencies, aircraft used, pricing policy, passenger and/or cargo transport statistics, utilisation of points behind, intermediate points and points beyond, how the examined transport services connect to other networks, transit traffic volumes and the benefits for airports of the Slovak Republic, etc.);

II. and adhere to the following rules: a) be guided by the principle of balanced development of air transport services on the part of Community carriers; b) at all events verify the validity of the AOC, and of the commercial licence if the licensing State issues one; c) examine the interlinking of the use of historical traffic rights (grandfather traffic rights) by a Slovak carrier or Community carrier, and the preferential application thereof; d) evaluate the financial analyses of the different alternatives for the services planned to be provided, also from the view of passengers and cargo (analyses shall describe among other things the situation on the market and the competitiveness situation on the route); e) assess, with regard to maintenance of air transport safety standards, the actual arrangements and the level involved; f) consider the negative influence that creating or maintaining a dominant role for the applicant Community carrier may have on the air transport market in relation to the Slovak Republic.

(2) The Ministry may allow applicants to present their applications orally, in which case all applicants shall be heard.

(3) The Ministry shall issue in writing to the air carrier concerned its decision to grant the traffic rights, and shall publish this information on the websites.

(4) The Ministry shall implement in a transparent manner the process related to monitoring of traffic rights in air transport between the Slovak Republic and third States, notification of current possible routes on the websites, examination of applications from air carriers, the associated decision-taking and the granting of limited traffic rights. Due to the fact that they are restricted, the granting of limited traffic rights cannot be claimed as a right and depends on the air transport policy of the Slovak Republic, taking into account the interests of Community carriers.

(5) The granted traffic rights shall remain in force until a new notice is issued under Article 3(1) or (4), or until the date determined by the Ministry, if such date is specified in the document granting traffic rights. However, the traffic rights can be terminated by reassessment under Article 5 and revocation or withdrawal under Article 6.

Article 5

Reassessment of Granted Traffic Rights

(1) The Ministry may reconsider its decision to grant traffic rights. The decision on granting traffic rights must be reassessed if a submission is received from a Community carrier operating air transport to Slovakia, from Slovakia and/or through Slovakia.

(2) The Community carrier to whom traffic rights were granted by the decision shall be informed of each reassessment of the affected decision on granting traffic rights. A notice shall be posted on the websites stating that the granted traffic rights on a particular route or routes are being reassessed. The notice shall specify the deadline by which Community carriers must submit applications for the granting of traffic rights.

Article 6

Revocation and Withdrawal of Traffic Rights

(1) If the operation of air transport services for which traffic rights were granted has not commenced before the end of the flying scheduling period following the period in which the decision to grant the traffic rights was issued, or following the period in which the Community carrier was designated to the third State involved, the later of these dates shall be decisive, and if, before the expiration of that period, the Community carrier has not sufficiently demonstrated exceptional circumstances preventing it from operating the services, the Ministry shall revoke the decision on granting the traffic rights.

(2) The Ministry shall revoke the decision on granting the traffic rights if the relevant Community carrier informs the Ministry in writing that it does not plan to use them any further, or if the competent Member State of the European Union did not issue, withdrew or did not prolong the Community carrier's AOC, or licence if the licensing Member State issues one.

(3) The Ministry shall withdraw the traffic rights granted to the Community carrier fully, or for a certain period, or for certain routes, if the Community carrier:

a) does not operate the air services in accordance with the conditions set out in the document granting the traffic rights;

b) fails to comply with the provisions of the relevant air services agreement under which the traffic rights were granted to it, or infringes other international commitments;

c) does not observe the conditions governing the operation of the air transport services and the rules that generally apply to such services;

d) has ceased to fulfil the conditions governing establishment of a Community carrier on the territory of the Slovak Republic;

e) has ceased to fulfil the conditions under which it was issued the AOC, or licence.

Article 7

Transfer of Rights

The traffic rights granted by the Slovak Republic to a Community carrier are neither transferable nor tradable.

Article 8

Entry into Force

This Guideline shall enter into force on 1 March 2007.