CATEGORIES OF AIRLINE LICENSE

Regular Public Transport (RPT) Licence (For Airline) is issued by DG CAA with the approval
of the Federal Government for carriage of passengers and cargo services.
REQUIREMENTS

Registration of the Company shall be as Private or Public Ltd under the Companies
Ordinance 1984.
Minimum paid-up capital of Rs. 100 million.

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 of Rs. 10 million and bank guarantee of an equivalent amount from a
scheduled bank acceptable to CAA. (To be submitted before the grant of Licence).

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 Licence application).

Mandatory investment plan in maintenance/training infrastructure to support A & B

checks or equivalent standards.

Comprehensive insurance policy covering aircraft, crew, passenger/cargo and third party
risks at the level specified by ICAO conventions.

ISSUES OF AIRLINE LICENSE

The applicant will submit a formal application on CAAF-ATNR-001-1.0 along with all
requisite documents including processing fee as per AT Fee Schedule to Director Air Transport,
HQ CAA, for consideration and evaluation.
Applications received will be scrutinized by Air Transport Directorate for acceptance/rejection
within 3 days of receipt of the application.
Applications once accepted will be processed by Air Transport 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, will be cleared by DG CAA and
thereafter referred to the Competent Authority, i.e. Federal Government, for approval under
Rule 177 of Civil Aviation Rules, 1994.
On receipt of the requisite approval from the Federal Government, RPT Licence will be issued
by DG CAA after receipt of the security deposit, back guarantee and licence issuance fee.
The Licence is only a permission to develop an RPT organization and in no way entitles the
Licencee to operate an aircraft. This can only be done after issuance of an Air Operator
Certificate (AOC). It is necessary that before setting up an airline, the Company management
should become fully conversant with Civil Aviation Rules 1994; Air Navigation Orders (ANOs),

Airworthiness Notices issued from time to time and relevant international

practices/requirements.

DEVELOPMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE
The Company shall make adequate arrangements in the following areas:

Aircraft maintenance, overhauling and provision of spare parts.

Provision of cockpit & cabin crew.

Reservation & ticketing.

Ground handling.

Flight Operation.

Refueling Arrangements.

System to ensure compliance with all applicable rules and regulations.

CONDITIONS FOR OPERATION

Minimum fleet requirement is three aircraft for passenger operations and one aircraft for
Cargo operations.
Aircraft may be inducted on dry lease or ownership basis subject to conditions laid down
by the Government / CAA.

Fleet registration in Pakistan is mandatory for issuance of an AOC

The restriction on age and origin of aircraft are as follows:

o

In case of Eastern origin/ Russian aircraft, the maximum age at the time of
induction shall be 15 years and 75% cycles of structural life, or 75% hours; or
less as given by the manufacturer according to the current modification status

In case of western/European aircraft, there shall be no age limit except for the
criteria of 75% cycles of structural life, or 75% hours; or less as given by the
manufacturer according to the current modification status

Exception to age criteria may be permitted for socio economic/tertiary routes

subject to meeting the 75% cycles of structural life, or 75% hours; or less as
given by the manufacturer according to the current modification status

Exception to age criteria may be permitted for operations by cargo aircraft

subject to meeting the 75% cycles of structural life, or 75% hours; or less as

given by the manufacturer according to the current modification status

o

Exception to airworthiness criteria of 75% cycles of structural life, or 75% hours;

or less may be permitted for short term leasing, under 90 days, for a specific
purpose

ACQUISITION OF AIRCRAFT

The operator shall have minimum three aircraft registered in Pakistan to avoid
inconvenience to the traveling public.
For operations with Pakistan registered aircraft, Airworthiness Directorate will issue the
Certificate of Registration and Certificate of Airworthiness.

For maintenance and certification of aircraft, Director Airworthiness may be consulted

for guidance on applicable requirements and procedures.

Wet lease aircraft induction from foreign countries would be allowed only in an extraordinary circumstances i.e. unforeseen surge in the market demand or sudden shortage
of the operators capacity due accident / incident of aircraft. Wet lease permission of
foreign registered aircraft shall not be more than 90 days unless satisfied the Director
General CAA.

For foreign registered aircraft, a transfer agreement between the State of Registry and
State of Operator is required to be concluded (before the commercial agreement between
the lessor and lessee operator) under Article 83 (bis) of the Chicago Convention read
with Civil Aviation Rule 368-A. The Author and OPI for the transfer agreement will
be the Chief Legal Services, CAA.

DOMESTIC OPERATIONS
All RPT Licence holders can freely operate on domestic routes. The following domestic routes
must be serviced as a minimum:

Minimum of two trunk routes, one of which should include Peshawar, Quetta, Multan or
Faisalabad.
Minimum of two frequencies per week on one socio-economic or one tertiary route.

In case of inability to service on socio-economic or tertiary routes, a royalty will be paid to PIA
(Pakistan International Airline) @ Rs. 500,000 per month.

Eight destinations i.e. Chitral, Gilgit, Skardu, Gwadar, Panjgur, Turbat, Pasni and Jiwani
are treated as socio-economic routes.
Tertiary routes include Sukkur, Rahim-Yar-Khan, Moenjodaro, D. I. Khan, Bahawalpur,
D. G. Khan, Zhob, Nawabshah, Saidu Sharif, Hyderabad, Jacobabad, Ormara,
Dalbandin, Khuzdar, Bannu, Rawalakot, Parachanar, Muzaffarabad and Sehwan Sharif.

INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS
Allocation of international routes will be determined by the Federal Government in the light of
the following factors:

Operations to countries where open-skies or multiple designations of airlines is

available.
Where PIA (Pakistan International Airline) is not operating to its full entitlement, the
surplus capacity of PIA on these routes may be given to private airlines.

Operations on routes on which PIA has been designated as the Pakistani carrier but is
not operating.

Linking of international operation with continued operations on domestic routes for at

least one year and meeting all mandatory conditions of domestic operations to justify
acquisition of international route.

ISSUE OF AIR OPERATOR CERTIFICATE (AOC)

After the issuance of RPT Licence to an operator by the Federal Government it is a regulatory
requirement specified in ANO 91.0001 and AOC Guide CAAD-617 Flight Standards
Directorate, to obtain an AOC. The operator shall comply with all the requirements of Civil
Aviation Regulations and ensure that:

The applicant has demonstrated that his equipment, organization staffing and training
program are adequate to secure the safe operations of the types of aircraft to be included
in the AOC
The applicant can establish and maintain a satisfactory method of supervision of the
flight operations

The aircraft are provided with servicing and maintenance facility and a system of
maintenance control is established.

The management structure is appropriate and personnel selected by the operator for
specified management positions possess the required experience and qualifications

Manuals should have been prepared in advance, which describe in detail how company
personnel would be required to carry out their duties. These manuals are as under:

Flight Operations Manual

Manual of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Flight Crew Training Manual.

Exposition Manual.

MEL / MMEL.

Dangerous Goods Manual, etc.,

Aircraft meet the appropriate standards and have been proven in flight to be acceptable for the
operations proposed.
The operator shall be issued with the relevant type of AOC after the successful demonstration of
the regulatory and operational requirements to CAA.
Once certificated, the operator is responsible for ongoing compliance with the requirements of
the relevant legislations. The CAA is required to continually monitor the operations to ensure
compliance. Failure by the operator to comply may result in suspension or cancellation of the
AOC. The application for AOC is to be prepared with the requirements prescribed in Appendix
A to CAA AOC Guide available at Flight Standards Directorate.
RENEWAL OF RPT (AIRLINE) LICENCE

The Licence holder (Licencee) shall apply to the Director Air Transport, HQ CAA,
Karachi on the Company Letterhead application Form where applicable for renewal with
appropriate Licence renewal fee as per AT FEE SCHEDULE at least 45 days before
expiry of the licence. In case of failure, the holder, in addition to the normal fee shall pay
surcharge Rs 20,000/- per month or part thereof. In case of receipt of application for
renewal after expiry of the licence, no waiver or extension to the licence shall be granted
until approval of the Competent Authority i.e. Federal Government is being sought or
waiver/extension granted by the DG CAA in the National and General Public interest.
On receipt of the application, Air Transport Directorate shall seek comments / no
objection of the CAA specialist directorates i.e. Finance, Flight Standards and
Airworthiness and if applicable / required of Legal directorate.

If there are any CAA outstanding (aeronautical / non aeronautical) dues against the
licencee/operator or any other objections, the licencee should clear the same before
renewal of the licence unless agreed by the Director General CAA or the Federal
Government.

On receipt of the no objection of the concerned directorates, approval of the Director

General shall be sought and the matter shall be referred to the Federal Government for
approval.

On receipt of the approval of the Federal Government, the licence shall be renewed by
the Air Transport Directorate.