Commission Regulation (EU) No 115/2011
of 2 February 2011
amending Regulation (EC) No 748/2009 on the list of aircraft operators which performed an aviation activity listed in Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on or after 1 January 2006 specifying the administering Member State for each aircraft operator
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC1, and in particular Article 18a(3)(a) thereof,
Whereas:
Directive 2008/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council2 amended Directive 2003/87/EC to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the European Union.
Commission Regulation (EC) No 748/20093 establishes a list of aircraft operators which had performed an aviation activity within the meaning of Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC on or after 1 January 2006.
The list aims to reduce the administrative burden on aircraft operators by providing information on which Member State will be regulating a particular aircraft operator, so that each aircraft operator knows which Member State it will be regulated by and each Member State is clear on which operators it should regulate.
The inclusion in the Union’s emissions trading scheme is dependent upon the performance of an aviation activity in Annex I to the Directive 2003/87/EC and is not dependent on the inclusion in the list of aircraft operators established by the Commission on the basis of Article 18a(3) of the Directive.
A number of aircraft operators employ management or service companies to file flight plans and pay route charges on their behalf. Consequently the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) designator of the management or service company often appears in the flight plan, notwithstanding that such companies may not be aircraft operators. The best means to identify an aircraft operator or aircraft owner is the presence of the ICAO designator or registration marking in the flight plan, and it is therefore often not possible to identify with certainty the relevant operator unless the operator provides Eurocontrol with a fleet declaration containing data on the aircraft it operates. In establishing the updated list of the aircraft operators, the Commission has taken account of the fleet list declarations provided to it by operators and management and service companies. However, a number of management or service companies and aircraft registration markings appear in the updated list due to a lack of information being provided.
Regulation (EC) No 748/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: