Charter Licence

In accordance with Civil Aviation Rules 1994, National Aviation Policy-2019 and Air Navigation Order ANO-001-ATNR, Charter Licence is issued by DG CAA after the approval of the Federal Government, where applicable, for carriage of passengers and cargo in the following categories:-

• Charter –Domestic
1. Class-I
2. Class-II
• Charter –International
1. Class-I
2. Class-II
• Class-I mean operation with aircraft having AUW of less than 5700 Kgs.
• Class-II means operations without any aircraft weight limitations

Requirements

• Registration of the Company shall be as Private or Public Ltd under the Companies Ordinance 1984 by SECP.

• Minimum Paid-up Capital for Charter Class-I; Rs. 25 Million and Class – II; Rs. 50 Million with documentary proof incorporated with SECP.

• Foreign investment, if any, is allowed but not more than 49% of the paid up capital, to the extent where the controlling interest remains in local hands.
• Security deposit for Charter Class-I  Rs. 05 Million and Charter Class-II Rs.10 Million to be submitted before the grant of License.
• A sound business plan, registration documents like the Memorandum and Articles of Association, share allocation form duly verified by Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Trust Deed, bank references three years projected book of accounts prepared by registered Charter Accountants Firm, and any other documents to prove to the satisfaction of CAA that the airline is a legally established body capable of operating commercial flights. (To be submitted with application for licence).
• Where applicable, evidence of paid-up capital (free of losses) / Equity along with details of foreign investment if any i.e. Bank Statements and Certificates from registered Chartered Accountants Firm / Company. Minimum Equity (net worth) to Assets Ratio should be at least 15%, gradually increasing by at least 1% per annum up to a minimum of 20% over a period of next five years.
• Comprehensive insurance policy covering aircraft, crew, passenger/cargo and third party risks at the level specified by ICAO conventions, prevailing CAA regulations and Government Gazette Notification on Passenger insurance liabilities.
• Security clearance of company in respect of CEO/Owner/Director/Major Share holders shall be mandatory. If any owner / CE / Director(s) are not security cleared or there are serious or adverse observations by the Security / Intelligence Agencies at any stage, the Operator / Company / Individuals concerned shall have to comply with the instructions of the Federal Government / DG CAA. In case of non-compliance within the stipulated time or failure to submit any valid justification in this regard, the licence / AOC shall be liable to suspension / cancellation in accordance with Rules / Regulations / Conditions of Licence.

·         For any shareholding transaction of 51% or more, either singly or in aggregate enabling transfer of controlling interest in a Private Limited Company holding a Licence, prior permission of the DG CAA shall be essential for incorporation in SECP on relevant Forms.

Issuance of Charter License

• An applicant shall apply on prescribed CAA Form duly filled, and signed by Chief Executive of the Company / Managing Partner of the Firm, if applicable, to DAT & ER along with the requisite documents. After verification of documents and resolution of objections, if any, the applicant shall take ID and Password from AT & ER Directorate to submit the application on-line as well as hard copies to AT&ER Directorate. (twelve sets).
• Applications received will be scrutinized by Air Transport & ER Directorate for acceptance / rejection for process within 3 days of receipt of the application.
• Applications once accepted will be processed by Air Transport & ER Directorate in consultation with the other concerned Directorates of CAA within a period of 10 days.

• The scrutinized application, if considered to be in order at AT Directorate, will be seen and assessed by DG CAA and subsequently sent to the Federal Government, where applicable. The approving authorities are as follows:

·         DG CAA, for Charter Class-I domestic operations.

• Federal Government, for Charter Class I & II  (Domestic & International) operations.

• On receipt of the requisite approval from the Federal Government, Charter License will be issued by DG CAA after deposit of the security deposit and License issuance fee.

• The License is only a permission to develop a Charter air operation organization and in no way qualifies the Licensee to start charter operations which can only be carried out after issuance of an Air Operator Certificate (AOC). It is necessary that before commencement of operations, the Company management should become fully conversant and comply with Civil Aviation Rules 1994; National Aviation Policy-2019, Air Navigation Orders (ANOs), Airworthiness Notices issued from time to time and relevant international practices / requirements.

Fleet Requirements

·         Minimum fleet requirement is: Two airworthy aircraft (with minimum similar seating capacity) for passenger operations and one airworthy aircraft for Cargo operations.

·         Fleet registration in Pakistan is mandatory

·         The Applicant intending to import / export an aircraft / helicopter on ownership or lease basis, shall apply to Airworthiness Directorate, CAA.

International Operations

Pakistani designated airlines shall be eligible to commence operations on international routes after six months of continued satisfactory operations on domestic routes, meeting following performance parameters:-

·         Domestic charter operation shall be allowed to Pakistani operators using Pakistani registered aircraft.

·         In case of Charter licence (Domestic and International), the Operator would be required to operate at least six (06) months on domestic routes prior to be considered for international operations.

·         International charters originating from Pakistan shall be allowed to Pakistani operators only (except Hajj, Umra and other religious pilgrimage operations to/from other countries which may be regulated as per bilateral arrangements/agreements).

·         There shall be no restriction on round trip tourist passenger charter groups on all international routes irrespective of the scheduled operations.

·         On routes adequately served by scheduled operators, one-way passenger charter operation will also be allowed with an aircraft having less than 19 seats.

·         On Primary Routes, where no RPT operator conducts operations, Charter Operators may operate Scheduled Commuter Service with more than 19 seats aircraft, however, if any of the RPT operator intends to operate on any of such Primary Route then the priority would be given to RPT operators.

·         Policy Guidelines for Dry and Wet Lease of Aircraft will also apply to Charter Class II operators and shall be oversight by Airworthiness Directorate.

Condition of Air Operator Certificate

• After the issuance of charter license to an operator by the Federal Government / DG CAA, it is a regulatory that the operator has to obtain an AOC within two years of issuance of License.

Renewal of Charter License

• The License holder (Licensee) shall apply to the Director Air Transport & ER, HQCAA, Karachi, on the Company’s Letterhead for renewal of License along with applicable renewal fee at least 90 days before expiry of the License along with the following documents. In case of failure, the holder, in addition to the normal fee shall pay surcharge Rs 2,000/- per month or part thereof. In case of receipt of application for renewal after expiry of the License, no waiver or extension to the License shall be granted until approval of the Competent Authority in the National and General Public interest, as per ANO:-

·         Current annual audited report in line with the NAP-2019, duly signed by the Directors / CEO and their authorized chartered accountant firm.

·         Current Operations Specifications issued by Flight Standards Directorate CAA.

• On receipt of the application, Air Transport & ER Directorate shall seek comments / no objection of the CAA specialist directorates i.e. Finance, Flight Standards, Airworthiness, Consumer Protection and Economic Oversight section and if applicable / required of Legal directorate.
• The licensee should clear all CAA outstanding dues, if any, before application of renewal of the License in coordination with CAA Billing section.
• On receipt of the no objection of the concerned directorates, approval of the Director General shall be sought for referring the matter to the Federal Government, as the case may be, for final approval.

·         On receipt of the approval of the Federal Government / DG CAA, the renewed License shall be issued by the AT & ER Directorate.

• Clearance of CAA outstanding dues

·         According to para 4.3.3 of NAP-2019, “if any operator defaults on outstanding dues for a period equivalent of two (02) Fortnightly Bills, its operation shall be suspended and recovery shall be made from attachment and/or sale of its tangible and intangible assets. In case of non-compliance the onus will lie on the regulator while operators’ security shall be forfeited with markup”.

·         Upon default of two billing cycles, following mechanism shall be adopted for taking appropriate and regulatory action for recovery of CAA dues:-

·         Finance Directorate shall adjust the advance three billing cycles / security deposit against outstanding dues and inform AT&ER Directorate for necessary action.

·         Suspension of flight operations with immediate effect

·         Issuance of Show Cause Notice for personal hearing

·         In case un-satisfactory reply, Suspension of Licence with prior approval of Federal Government.

·         Cancellation of licence and recovery of outstanding dues from attachment and / or sale of its tangible and intangible assets.