1. For each period referred to in Article 3c, each aircraft operator may apply for an allocation of allowances that are to be allocated free of charge. An application may be made by submitting to the competent authority in the administering Member State verified tonne-kilometre data for the aviation activities listed in Annex I performed by that aircraft operator for the monitoring year. For the purposes of this Article, the monitoring year shall be the calendar year ending 24 months before the start of the period to which it relates in accordance with Annexes IV and V or, in relation to the period referred to in Article 3c(1), 2010. Any application shall be made at least 21 months before the start of the period to which it relates or, in relation to the period referred to in Article 3c(1), by 31 March 2011 .
2. At least 18 months before the start of the period to which the application relates or, in relation to the period referred to in Article 3c(1), by 30 June 2011 , Member States shall submit applications received under paragraph 1 to the Commission.
3. At least 15 months before the start of each period referred to in Article 3c(2) or, in relation to the period referred to in Article 3c(1), by 30 September 2011 , the Commission shall calculate and adopt a decision setting out:
(a) the total quantity of allowances to be allocated for that period in accordance with Article 3c;
(b) the number of allowances to be auctioned in that period in accordance with Article 3d;
(c) the number of allowances in the special reserve for aircraft operators in that period in accordance with Article 3f(1);
(d) the number of allowances to be allocated free of charge in that period by subtracting the number of allowances referred to in points (b) and (c) from the total quantity of allowances decided upon under point (a); and
(e) the benchmark to be used to allocate allowances free of charge to aircraft operators whose applications were submitted to the Commission in accordance with paragraph 2.
The benchmark referred to in point (e), expressed as allowances per tonne-kilometre, shall be calculated by dividing the number of allowances referred to in point (d) by the sum of the tonne-kilometre data included in applications submitted to the Commission in accordance with paragraph 2.
4. Within three months from the date on which the Commission adopts a decision under paragraph 3, each administering Member State shall calculate and publish:
(a) the total allocation of allowances for the period to each aircraft operator whose application it submitted to the Commission in accordance with paragraph 2, calculated by multiplying the tonne-kilometre data included in the application by the benchmark referred to in paragraph 3(e); and
(b) the allocation of allowances to each aircraft operator for each year, which shall be determined by dividing its total allocation of allowances for the period calculated under point (a) by the number of years in the period for which that aircraft operator is performing an aviation activity listed in Annex I.
5. By 28 February 2012 and by 28 February of each subsequent year, the competent authority of the administering Member State shall issue to each aircraft operator the number of allowances allocated to that aircraft operator for that year under this Article or Article 3f.]