Click here to download the Air transport 2019 report, published by Getting the Deal Through.

Jurisdictions covered

The following 28 jurisdictions are covered in this report:

Afghanistan; Argentina; Belgium; Brazil; Canada; Chile; Costa Rica; European Union; France; Germany; Greece; India; Italy; Japan; Kenya; Malta; Netherlands; Nigeria; Panama; Poland; Portugal; Russia; Singapore; Sweden; Switzerland; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; United States

Questions

The set of questions relating to the topic of air transport and answered by the guide for each jurisdiction covered include:

General

• • Which bodies regulate aviation in your country, under what basic laws?

Regulation of aviation operations

• • How is air transport regulated in terms of safety?
• • What safety regulation is provided for air operations that do not constitute public or commercial transport, and how is the distinction made?
• • Is access to the market for the provision of air transport services regulated, and if so how?
• • What requirements apply in the areas of financial fitness and nationality of ownership regarding control of air carriers?
• • What procedures are there to obtain licences or other rights to operate particular routes?
• • What procedures are there for hearing or deciding contested applications for licences or other rights to operate particular routes?
• • Is there a declared policy on airline access or competition, and if so what is it?
• • What requirements must a foreign air carrier satisfy in order to operate to or from your country?
• • Are there specific rules in place to ensure aviation services are offered to remote destinations when vital for the local economy?
• • Are charter services specially regulated?
• • Are airfares regulated, and if so, how?
• • Are there any rules regulating the operation of unmanned aircraft systems (drones)?

Aircraft

• • Who is entitled to be mentioned in the aircraft register? Do requirements or limitations apply to the ownership of an aircraft listed on your country’s register?
• • Is there a register of aircraft mortgages or charges, and if so how does it function?
• • What rights are there to detain aircraft, in respect of unpaid airport or air navigation charges, or other unpaid debts?
• • Do specific rules regulate the maintenance of aircraft?

Airports

• • Who owns the airports?
• • What system is there for the licensing of airports?
• • Is there a system of economic regulation of airports, and, if so, how does it function?
• • Are there laws or rules restricting or qualifying access to airports?
• • How are slots allocated at congested airports?
• • Are there any laws or rules specifically relating to ground handling?
• • Who provides air traffic control services? And how are they regulated?

Liability and accidents

• • Are there any special rules in respect of death of, or injury to, passengers or loss or damage to baggage or cargo in respect of domestic carriage?
• • Are there any special rules about the liability of aircraft operators for surface damage?
• • What system and procedures are in place for the investigation of air accidents?
• • Is there a mandatory accident and incident reporting system, and if so, how does it operate?

Competition law

• • Do sector-specific competition rules apply to aviation? If not, do the general competition law rules apply?
• • Is there a sector-specific regulator or are competition rules applied by the general competition authority?
• • How is the relevant market for the purposes of a competition assessment in the aviation sector defined by the competition authorities?
• • What are the main standards for assessing the competitive effect of a transaction?
• • What types of remedies have been imposed to remedy concerns identified by the competition authorities?

Financial support and state aid

• • Are there sector-specific rules regulating direct or indirect financial support to companies by the government or government-controlled agencies or companies (state aid) in the aviation sector? If not, do general state aid rules apply?
• • What are the main principles of the state aid rules applicable to the aviation sector?
• • Are there exemptions from the state aid rules or situations in which they do not apply?
• • Must clearance from the competition authorities be obtained before state aid may be granted?
• • If so, what are the main procedural steps to obtain clearance?
• • If no clearance is obtained, what procedures apply to recover unlawfully granted state aid?

Miscellaneous

• • Is there any aviation-specific passenger protection legislation?
• • Are there mandatory insurance requirements for the operators of aircraft?
• • What legal requirements are there with regard to aviation security?
• • What serious crimes exist with regard to aviation?