In the fall of 2023, I published an article titled “How to legally do sightseeing flights or the legal regulation of sightseeing flights". In this article, I have discussed in detail the rules for conducting "acquaintance flights", which are commonly known as "Sightseeing flights".

The Civil Aviation Authority has issued a new regulation effective from January 1.1.2025, XNUMX CAA-SL-102-n-24, which conditions for conducting reconnaissance flights relatively tightened and thus limited the performance of sightseeing flights. I find it somewhat curious that even before the new regulation had the opportunity to actually regulate the activities of operators with regard to the weather, when the season of reconnaissance flights is likely to arrive, the Office has already come up with an amendment to this regulation, which I will mention later in the text.

The aim of this paper is to inform readers about new developments in the field of conducting reconnaissance flights, which have so far been used for sightseeing flights by organizations that do not hold a license to operate commercial air transport.

Familiarization or sightseeing flights

First, let us recall the definition of the term sightseeing or reconnaissance flight and the legislative framework within which these flights are carried out.

The term "sightseeing flight" is not known in national or European legislation. However the phenomenon of sightseeing flights is modified, namely as a "familiar flight".

Familiarization flight is any short flight operated for remuneration or other consideration by a training organisation referred to in Article 10a Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1178/2011 or an organization created for the purpose of promoting sport or recreational flying with the aim of recruiting new members or those interested in training.

The essence of reconnaissance flights is that they can be carried out by an entity that does not hold a commercial air transport license., whose basic purpose is to carry out flights for third parties for a fee. Obtaining this license is quite difficult, as evidenced by the fact that, for example, in the field of helicopter flying, only four entities have this license, which can thus be considered the top in their field in the Czech Republic. Similarly, operation in the commercial air transport regime is subject to a number of additional restrictions and obligations.

Article 6 paragraph 4a) letter C) COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No. 965/2012 of October 5, 2012, which establishes the technical requirements and administrative procedures regarding air traffic according to Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council (EC) No. 216/2008 (regulation on AOC) stipulates that without meeting the requirements of Article 5(1) and (6) (i.e. not according to the rules for commercial air transport), reconnaissance flights may be carried out in accordance with Annex VII with other than complex motor-powered aeroplanes and helicopters, carried out either training organization, whose principal place of business is in a Member State and which is referred to in Article 10a of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, or an organization created for the purpose of promoting sports or recreational flying, provided that the organisation operates the aircraft on an ownership or dry lease/lease basis (so-called “dry lease”) that the flight does not generate a profit paid outside the organization and that flights attended by persons who are not members of the organization are only peripheral activities of the organization.

According to the provisions of ARO.OPS.300 of Annex II to the said Regulation, the national authority (in our case the Civil Aviation Authority hereinafter referred to as "Office"Or"UCL") to lay down additional conditions for reconnaissance flights carried out on the territory of a Member State. These conditions must be reasonable and ensure safe operations.

The Authority has newly specified these conditions in regulation CAA-SL-102-n-24 "Conditions for conducting familiarization flights pursuant to Article 6, paragraph 4a, letter c) of Regulation (EU) No. 965/2012, Article 3, paragraph 2, letter c) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1976 and Article 3, paragraph 2, letter c) of Regulation (EU) 2018/395", which replaced the previously effective regulation CAA-SL-1.1.2025-102-6 with effect from 16 January XNUMX.

Reason for making changes

According to the announcement of the Customs Administration published on its website (https://www.caa.cz/news/uverejneni-otazek-a-odpovedi-k-novym-podminkam-pro-seznamovaci-lety-caa-sl-102-n-24/) in the past, the flight section, as part of its supervisory activities, encountered the fact that the institute of this flight was used on a mass scale for sightseeing flights, which had no ambition to attract new applicants for pilot training.

Another reason for the introduction of changes is supposed to be the initiatives of commercial air transport operators, who drew attention to the use of this institute on a mass scale and thus the disruption of the business environment and equal conditions within commercial air transport. In this context, I asked the Office which entities had filed these complaints and asked for a copy of these complaints. To my surprise, the Office replied that it does not register any complaints from operators in this context. Sadly humorous.

What kind of flight is it?

NCO.GEN.103 defines a reconnaissance flight as a flight that:

a) starts and ends at the same airport or operating location (AA),

b) is operated according to VFR rules by day,

c) is operated under the supervision of a personwho has been entrusted with the responsibility for its safety, and

d) meets all other conditions determined by the competent authority (note regulation CAA-SL-102-n-24)

First of all, it must be about short flight. Regulation CAA-SL-102-n-24 newly establishesthat it is a flight, the length of which does not exceed 60 minutes. The previous amendment did not specify a specific flight duration. From my experience, I believe that this condition will not limit organizations conducting reconnaissance flights, since flights of this type usually do not exceed 60 minutes. It must still be a flight that starts and ends at the same airport or operating location. Originally, this regulation set the duration of a reconnaissance flight at a maximum of 40 minutes, which I think was fully sufficient to fulfill the purpose of the reconnaissance flight. The above-mentioned amendment extended the flight time to 60 minutes, with the proviso that, according to operators, the usual duration of a reconnaissance flight is 15 - 45 minutes, and the Authority benevolently added another 15 minutes of reserve.

Reconnaissance flights as a marginal activity of their operator

Marginal activity is defined in the Decision of the Director of EASA No. 2014/019/R.

The term "fringe activity" should be understood as an activity that represents a very small part of the organization's overall activity, should serve primarily to promote the organization itself or to reach new students or members. An organization that intends to offer such flights as a regular commercial activity is not considered to be an organization fulfilling the condition of a marginal activity. Similarly, flights organized purely with the intention of generating income for the organization are not considered to be a marginal activity.

The ÚCL has newly determined that a maximum of 20% of the total number of flight hours, which the given organization flew within the framework of its operations on the aircraft listed in the Notification, in relation to the given calendar year. The original wording of the regulation contained one more limit, namely 150 flight hours per calendar year. I evaluate this change positively, it could cause difficulties for larger operators with annual flight hours over 750 (when 20% is exactly 150 hours) and I believe that the marginality of the activity measured by the percentage of demo flights is more logical.

In this context, it is also necessary to draw attention to the change in the registration of reconnaissance flights so that it is possible to prove to the Authority that the flight hour limits have not been exceeded. Until 31.12.2024, regulation CAA-SL-102-6-16 established the obligation of persons conducting reconnaissance flights to complete the relevant forms by 31 January of the year following the year in which the reconnaissance flights were conducted. reporting via an online form on the ÚCL websiteThis obligation from 1.1.2025 no longer exists, however, under the provisions of point 4.7 of regulation CAA-SL-102-n-24, the person conducting reconnaissance flights must be required to keep a list of records of reconnaissance flights conducted in such a way that he can demonstrate to the Authority at any time that the condition of marginal activity has not been violated and that the profit from this activity is not paid outside the organization. These records must be continuous and up-to-date and must contain at least:

a) date,

b) aircraft type,

c) aircraft registration number,

d) airport (operating area),

e) take-off and landing time,

f) flight time,

g) information about the pilot-in-command,

h) information on the number of passengers (persons on board) and

i) notes (if anything needs to be added).

The above data in conjunction with other data on the operator's flight activities may perhaps be capable of proving compliance with the limiting condition of the number of hours flown as reconnaissance flights. It is not clear to me from which of the above registration data the Authority should learn whether the profit achieved by the operator in conducting reconnaissance flights was not paid out outside the organization that carried out the reconnaissance flights.

Regardless of the fact that I would be very interested in how to calculate the profit that was achieved precisely when operating reconnaissance flights, when in my opinion the operator will not be able to calculate the costs, especially indirect costs, e.g. overhead, that he spent on conducting reconnaissance flights.

Announcement from the Customs Office

When asked about this issue, the Office told me: "An organization can prove that the profit it generates is not taken outside the organization in several ways. As mentioned above, the basic method is to keep transparent accounting in accordance with the legal order of the Czech Republic (i.e. detailed records of income and expenses) - transparency in these statements can be evidence that the profit remains in the organization, as well as fulfilling legal obligations (e.g. the obligation of business legal entities to publish their financial statements in the public register pursuant to Act No. 563/1991 Coll., the Accounting Act, as amended) and, if applicable, introducing internal control mechanisms (an independent auditor can confirm that the financial statements correspond to reality and that there is no unauthorized profit taking).

Another option may be a declaration on the method of handling profits, e.g. in the organization's internal documents (statutes, minutes of meetings of the governing bodies, etc.) it may be explicitly stated that profits will be reinvested in the organization or used for its activities (e.g. in the case of non-profit organizations).

And last but not least, it can be evidence of the proven use of profits, e.g. reinvestment in the organization (purchase of assets, investment in the development of the organization, remuneration of employees, etc.) or evidence of expenses related to the main activity, i.e. for non-profit organizations, it should be clearly demonstrated that the profit was used to support their activities or fulfill the main goal of the organization, e.g. according to the statutes.

Some of the above methods of proving that profits are not taken outside the organization could then be checked by the Office as part of ongoing supervision, and in other cases we assume cooperation with the relevant authorities, e.g. customs administration or tax authorities.

From the above, in my opinion, not at all It is not clear how the profit generated from reconnaissance flights should be reported. (as opposed to profit generated by other activities of the operator) and I am indeed curious how the Office in particular will investigate and deal with this fact, when, let's face it, the Office's employees are probably not gifted with knowledge in the field of financial or management accounting.

Notification of intention to conduct reconnaissance flights and termination of their conduct

The CAA-SL-102-n-24 regulation newly requires that the operator who will conduct reconnaissance flights inform the Civil Aviation Authority about this before commencing the activity. by filling out the online form here.

According to the Office's statement on its website, purpose of this notification institute getting an overview on entities that conduct reconnaissance flights and possibility of planning supervisory activities The Authority in this area. Notifications are submitted by operators once before the start of reconnaissance flights, thus taking into account the seasonality of these flights, and then again when the data specified in the notification changes (for example, the use of another, previously unused aircraft).

Termination notice conducting reconnaissance flights is submitted in a free form to the ÚCL address (by post, data box, e-mail to podatelna@caa.cz).

Person responsible for conducting reconnaissance flights

Each operator or organization intending to conduct reconnaissance flights shall designate a person who will ensure and be responsible for the safety and operation of reconnaissance flights. The responsible person and their contact details are included in the "Notification of Intent to Conduct Reconnaissance Flights". This person will also be the contact person for communication with the ÚCL.

The main responsibilities of the responsible person include in particular:

a) ensuring operational safety and all persons involved (passengers, crew and persons involved in the operation),

b) taking appropriate action to protect civil aviation from unlawful acts,

c) reporting and sending changes "Notice of intention to conduct reconnaissance flights" to the Civil Aviation Authority,

d) compliance with all requirements and conditions listed in this document,

e) documentation and record keeping, including communication with the Customs Administration,

f) pilot qualification check conducting reconnaissance flights,

g) appointing a sufficient number of trained persons over 18 years of age to assist in the organization of familiarization flights,

h) ensuring the safety and constant supervision of passengers, including their movement on the operating area and boarding/disembarking from/to the aircraft,

i) securing the necessary documents, familiarization with operating limits and training of crews conducting reconnaissance flights from operating locations,

j) in the case of leasing an aircraft for the purpose of operating reconnaissance flights, ensuring that crews are trained in the procedures and limitations given by the actual operation.

According to the Office's announcement, the person responsible for conducting reconnaissance flights will not always have to be physically present when conducting a reconnaissance flight and can be a pilot conducting a familiarization flight, provided that in such a case he will have to delegate his duties - for example, ensuring the safety of the operation and all persons involved (passengers, crew and persons participating in the operation) or ensuring the safety and constant supervision of passengers, including their movement on the operating area and boarding/disembarking from/to the aircraft - to another person.

Who is eligible to pilot reconnaissance flights?

It remains the case that familiarization flights can be carried out as a pilot by a holder of a lower level of aviation qualification than a commercial pilot's license, i.e. a license will suffice. PPL (A/H), provided it has a pilot the limits of the number of hours flown have been met. In the case of sightseeing flights carried out by airplanes / helicopters, a minimum flight is required 200 hours at least from that 100 in PIC function.  

The Customs Office has newly established limiting the pilot-in-command's flight time to 5 flight hours in one day, including all other flights on that day, further number of takeoffs/landings in one day to 25This limit only includes takeoffs/landings during all familiarization flights and not other flights, but be careful, the 5-hour limit applies not only to familiarization flights, but to all flights of a given pilot in one day.

If the pilot-in-command is simultaneously professional pilot in commercial aviation, must include time flown in familiarization flights to total airstrikes, according to the type of operation of the operator(s) for which he/she performs flight activities. The pilot-in-command is obliged to take into account in particular duty period (DP), flight duty period (FDP), rest period and standby period.

Passenger

The newly adopted Conditions for conducting reconnaissance flights contain paragraph 4.5 regulating passenger requirements. In its content, it is a replication and substantial expansion of paragraph 3.3 of the conditions for conducting reconnaissance flights effective until 31.12.2024, designated as "Operation of aircraft and organization of reconnaissance flights". At the same time, however, the new regulation introduces a number of other conditions, some of which, in my opinion, will significantly complicate the conduct of flights that we have so far referred to as "sightseeing".

Age limit

This major innovation is the age limit for persons who can participate in a flight that is to be designated as a reconnaissance flight. This age limit is set at 12 let. According to the Office's statement, the reason for this restriction, which applies in some foreign countries, is the fact that the purpose of the familiarization flight is to present flying to persons who may have a serious interest in sports flying. It is therefore obvious that children or significantly young persons cannot have this ambition, which they could realistically translate into reality in the foreseeable future, and therefore, in the opinion of the Office, there is no reason for these persons to participate in familiarization flights.

The age limit for young people to participate in a familiarization flight has also been raised. only with the consent of the legal guardian, from 15 to 18 let.

Briefing

It is newly introduced duty of the pilot in command, to ensure safety briefing of passengers before the flight. In my opinion, this requirement can only be met if the familiarization flights are carried out in such a way that passengers board the aircraft with the engine not running. Many familiarization flights, especially helicopter flights, are carried out in such a way that short, approximately 5-minute flights are carried out, when passengers in the cabin are exchanged while the rotor is running and the pilot-in-command does not have space to conduct safety briefing. The reason for this procedure is generally the high cost of a helicopter flight hour and the effort to operate familiarization flights organized in this way as economically as possible.

Violation of conditions for conducting reconnaissance flights

From my point of view it is The most significant change in the rules for conducting reconnaissance flights is the introduction of a minimum passenger age limit of 12 years.I believe that the Civil Aviation Authority will tend to carry out inspections in this context and it can be assumed that detecting a violation of this condition will be relatively simple. What sanctions are faced by the operator of reconnaissance flights carried out in violation of the conditions for their implementation?

Sanctions

Failure to comply with the Conditions for conducting reconnaissance flights may result in the initiation of administrative proceedings on suspicion of committing an offense fulfilling the factual provisions of Section 93, paragraph 1, letter k) Act No. 49/1997 Coll., on civil aviation, as amended (operates commercial air transport without a license or without a permit) or the provisions of Section 93, paragraph 3, letter c) of the same Act, when a legal entity or a natural person engaged in business carries out flights in the airspace of the Czech Republic in violation of the terms and conditions provided for in this Act or in a directly applicable European Union regulation governing the conduct of flights in airspace.

In the first case, it is possible to award a fine for the committed offense a fine of from CZK 100 to CZK 000 in the first case, from CZK 5 to CZK 000 in the second case.

záver

With this article I wanted to to point out major changes, which occurred during familiarization or sightseeing flights. In my opinion, the introduction of an age limit of 12 years for passengers is completely unnecessary. The presence of a person under the age of 12 has no effect on the safety and performance of the flight. And personally, as a pilot of such flights, I have experienced many cases when I had a father with a young son on board, whose childish eyes shone after landing, and I encouraged the father to also get a pilot's license, or enthusiastically announced that he would be a pilot one day too. This should no longer be possible and in my opinion it is a shame.

In my opinion, to achieve the purpose intended by the legal regulations, it would be more than enough if a condition defining a "short flight" were established, as was done in the Conditions for Conducting Reconnaissance Flights. We will see what the further practice will be.

Happy landings!

Source: epravo.cz

You need advice in the area air law? Are you not sure what a sightseeing flight is and is not? What has changed since January 1.1.2025, XNUMX in the legal regulation of reconnaissance flights? What must a pilot meet in order to conduct sightseeing flights? We will advise you on everything, just contact us contact!

JUDr. Ing. Jan Vych, attorney and partner