Greek national procedure for the allocation of limited air traffic rights
Date: 2007-11-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Greece, air space, air traffic, air transport, carrier, international negotiations, third country, transport licence

C 278/6

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Official Journal of the European Union

21.11.2007

NOTICES FROM MEMBER STATES

Greek national procedure for the allocation of limited air traffic rights

(2007/C 278/03)

In accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 847/2004 of the European Parliament and of the
Council on the negotiation and implementation of air service agreements between Member States and third
countries, the European Commission publishes the following national procedure for the distribution among
eligible Community carriers of air traffic rights where they are limited under air service agreements with
third countries.

‘Ministry for Transport and Communications Civil Aviation Service — Directorate-General for Air
Transport — Directorate for Air Operations — Section B — Bilateral Air Services Agreements —
Reference No d1/b/28178/2647

Athens, 19 July 2007

Subject: Approval of the Regulation on the designation of a Community air carrier established in Greece for
the operation of scheduled services between Greece and countries outside the European Union.

DECISION

The Governor

Having regard to:

(1) The provisions of the Convention on International Civil
Aviation of 7 December 1944 and Act 211/1947 on
International Civil Aviation.

(2) The Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article

43 thereof.

(3) The Agreement on the European Economic Area, signed at
Porto on 2 May 1992, and the Adjusting Protocol, signed
at Brussels on 17 March 1993.

(4) The Agreement between the European Community and
signed at

the Swiss Confederation on Air Transport,
Luxembourg on 21 June 1999.

(5) The provisions of Regulations (EEC) No 2407/92 on
licensing of air carriers and (EEC) No 2408/92 on access
for Community air carriers to intra-Community air routes.

(6) The provisions of Regulation (EC) No 847/2004 of
29 April 2004 on the negotiation and implementation of
air service agreements between Member States and third
countries, and in particular Articles 5 and 6 thereof.

(8) The provisions of Article 24 of Legislative Decree 714/70
on the establishment of the Air Transport Directorate and
the organisation of
the Civil Aviation Authority, as
replaced by Article 13(3) of Act 3082/02 (Government
Gazette, Series I, No 316 A).

(9) The provisions of Act 1815/1988 on the Air Navigation

Code, as currently in force.

and Government

(10) The provisions of Article 29A of Act 1558/1985 on
Government
(Government
Gazette, Series I, No 137 A), as amended by Article 27 of
Act 2081/1992 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 154 A)
and replaced by Article 1(2)(a) of Act 2469/1997
(Government Gazette, Series I, No 38 A).

Bodies

(11) The fact that this Regulation entails no expenditure under

the national budget,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

The Regulation on the designation of a Community air carrier
established in Greece for the operation of scheduled services
between Greece and countries outside the European Union, as
set out below, is hereby approved:

(7) The Declaration on the right of establishment adopted by
the Council of Transport Ministers of the European Union
on 5 June 2003.

“Regulation on the designation of a Community air carrier
established in Greece for the operation of scheduled services
between Greece and countries outside the European Union”

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C 278/7

Article 1

Article 4

Purpose of the Regulation

Supporting documents required

The purpose of this Regulation is to lay down the procedure
and the criteria for the designation of Community air carriers
which have an establishment in Greece for the operation of
scheduled services between Greece and countries outside the
European Union which are not covered by Regulation (EEC)
No 2408/92 on the basis of the relevant bilateral air service
agreements.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation the following definitions
shall apply:

(a) Designation: means the award to one or more interested
Community air carriers of the right to operate scheduled air
services between Greece and a third country agreed in the
the third
corresponding bilateral air service agreement,
through diplo-
country concerned being notified thereof
matic channels (except where the bilateral air service agree-
ment provides otherwise).

(b) Community Carrier: means an air carrier with a valid oper-
ating licence in accordance with the provisions of the rele-
vant Community legislation.

Article 3

Procedure

The procedure for the designation of a Community air
(a)
carrier for the operation of scheduled air services between
Greece and a country outside the EU not covered by Regulation
(EEC) No 2408/92 is initiated either on the initiative of the Civil
Aviation Authority (CAA) or following an application from a
Community air carrier established in Greece in accordance with
the provisions of the relevant Community legislation, and is as
follows:

(i) Invitation from the CAA to Community air carriers estab-
lished in Greece in accordance with the Community legisla-
tion in force to express interest in the designation of one or
more air carriers (in accordance with the provisions of the
relevant bilateral air service agreement) for the operation of
scheduled air services to/from an EU country not covered by
Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 in accordance with the provi-
sions of the relevant bilateral air service agreement. The invi-
tation shall
take the form of a notice from the CAA
Directorate for Air Operations (D1) addressed to Com-
munity air carriers established in Greece or to associations
thereof. The notice shall include any application for designa-
tion which has already been submitted for the route in ques-
tion. The notice shall also be published on the CAA's
website (www.hcaa.gr).

(ii) The deadline for submission of an expression of interest
shall be twenty calendar days from the date of publication
of the notice.

(a)
A Community air carrier which expresses interest in being
designated for the operation of an extra-EU scheduled air service
not covered by Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 shall submit to
the CAA Directorate for Air Operations an application accom-
panied by an assessment file, which shall contain the following
supporting documents:

(i) its operating licence and air operator's certificate together

with the accompanying special conditions;

(ii) data showing the carrier has an authorised representative

(establishment) in Greece;

type and capacity of

(iii) a flight plan, which shall contain a detailed list of services
with the number,
the main and
auxiliary aircraft which the air carrier intends to use for the
operation of
the frequencies and the
proposed date of commencement and duration of services,
and data showing whether the aircraft are owned or char-
tered;

the said services,

(iv) a detailed three-year forecast of the financial results for the
route in question, including data allowing the viability of
the route to be assessed (expected market share on the
insurance
route,
premiums,
expected
revenue, expenses, etc.);

salaries, maintenance,
catering,

groundhandling,

prices,

taxes,

fuel

(v) the tariffs/fares which will apply to the route;

(vi) any commercial practices (code-sharing, alliances) which

will apply to the route;

(vii) data demonstrating the air carrier's operational and finan-
cial capacity to operate the route in accordance with
Article 5 of Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92.

Only applications accompanied by a complete file will be

(b)
examined.

(c)
The application and the supporting documents shall be in
Greek. The application shall state the address in Greece to which
the CAA is to address correspondence.

(d) Where it deems necessary, the Civil Aviation Authority
may request the submission of additional
information, which
the air carrier shall be obliged to submit within fifteen calendar
days.

Article 5

Designation criteria

(a)
The criteria for selecting a Community air carrier which
has submitted an application for designation to operate an
extra-EU route not covered by Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92,
including those provided for in the relevant bilateral air services
agreement, shall be as follows:

(i) provision of sufficient and satisfactory services, with par-

ticular reference to:

— the satisfaction of demand for air travel,

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— the nature of the services, in terms of direct flights or
flights with stopovers, and the increase in the range of
services available to the travelling public,

Directorate shall draft a reasoned designation proposal and
submit it to the Governor of the CAA.

— the frequency of the services,

— the capacity provided,

— the fares policy (e.g. proposed fares and fare structure,

different fares expected to be offered),

— the date of commencement of services,

— the period during which the services will be provided
and the scope for the continuous provision of such
services in the form of scheduled services, on the basis
above all of the expected viability of the route,

— the reliability of the air carrier, if it has previously been
designated to operate an external route, as regards
compliance with its obligations as set out in Article 7
hereof;

(ii) the quality of the services provided, with particular refer-

ence to:

— the type and number of the main and auxiliary aircraft

which will be used to operate the route,

— the existence of a sales network for the convenience of

the travelling public;

(iii) the market situation, with particular reference to:

— the impact of the air carrier's designation on competi-
tion on the specific market and on the increase in the
market share of Community air carriers on the route in
question,

— the contribution to the promotion of the development
of tourism and/or economic and/or regional develop-
ment in Greece;

(b)
The Community air carrier(s) to be designated shall be
selected by act of the Governor of the CAA on the basis of the
abovementioned proposal within thirty days of its submission.

(c)
The said act shall contain the operating conditions of the
route in question (e.g. frequency of services, capacity and any
other conditions, in accordance with the provisions of the rele-
vant bilateral air services agreement). Where appropriate, rejec-
tion of an application shall be decided by a similar act. The
abovementioned decisions shall be communicated to all air
carriers which have expressed interest in being designated and
shall be published on the CAA's official website.

Appeals against the decisions referred to at point b above
and

submitted to the Minister

for Transport

(d)
may be
Communications.

(e)
Designation of the selected air carrier to the authorities of
the foreign State shall be done on the basis of the provisions of
the relevant bilateral air services agreement.

(f) Where an air carrier submits an application for an increase
in the frequency of services on the route for which it has been
designated,
it shall submit a file including the information
referred to in Article 4(a)(iii), (iv) and (v) hereof and listing any
to the data referred to in
amendments/changes/additions
Article 4(a)(i) and (ii). Within two months of the date of submis-
sion of the application the competent Directorate shall draft a
reasoned proposal for the amendment of the designation act in
line with the application submitted and shall submit it to the
Governor of the CAA.

Article 7

(iv) account shall also be taken of the following criteria:

Obligations of the designated air carrier

— basic knowledge of the Greek language on the part of

passenger cabin crew and sales staff,

— In the event of more than one application receiving
equal ranking on the basis of the above criteria, priority
shall be given to the first application for designation for
the route in question submitted with the necessary
supporting documents, provided that application was
submitted for the first time after the corresponding invi-
tation to express interest was published by the CAA.

Article 6

Procedure for the assessment and selection of

the air

carrier

(a)
The Directorate of the CAA responsible for examining
applications (Directorate for Air Operations/Bilateral Air Services
Agreements Section) shall examine the air carriers' files on the
basis of the provisions of Articles 4 and 5 hereof. Within two
months of the date of receipt of the last application and/or
supporting document, or otherwise within two months of the
the applications, the competent
start of

the examination of

(a)
The designated air carrier must take all due preparatory
action for the operation of the route for which it has been
designated such that services commence no later
than six
months after the date of its designation and without exceptions
from the flight plan which it submitted, except in the event of
exceptional circumstances.

(b)
The designated air carrier must inform the competent
Directorate of the CAA of any change in its flight plan on the
route for which it has been designated.

(c) When providing services on the routes for which it has
been designated, the designated air carrier must comply faith-
fully with the provisions of national and international legislation
on the operation of international air transport services and with
laid down by the aviation
the procedures and guidelines
authority of the country in which it has been designated,
in
accordance with the provisions of
the relevant bilateral air
services agreement.

(d)
The transfer of
carrier is not permitted.

the rights in question to another air

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Article 8

Reassessment of the designated air carrier and revocation
of designation

In the event of a substantial change in the operational,
(a)
commercial,
financial or other information on the basis of
which the air carrier(s) was/were designated in accordance with
this Regulation, and/or failure on the part of the air carrier(s) to
comply with the provisions hereof, the CAA may at any time
reassess the air carrier(s)
in accordance with the provisions
hereof, with respect either to the renewal of the designation act
or to the revocation of
its designation and, where deemed
appropriate, issue an invitation to express interest to air carriers.

(b)
In particular, failure in part or in whole to use the rights
for a period exceeding six months, in accordance with the provi-
sions of Article 7(a) above, partial or total interruption by the

air carrier of the operation of the services for a period exceeding
six months, and/or submission by the air carrier of a written
application for the suspension of the operation of the services
in question, shall constitute sufficient reason to revoke the desig-
nation; the CAA may, where it deems appropriate, issue a new
invitation to express interest to air carriers.

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the date of its publica-
tion in the Government Gazette.

This Regulation shall be published in the Government Gazette.

The Governor

Ioannis ANDRIANOPOULOS’