This Regulation regulates the licensing of Community air carriers, the right of Community air carriers to operate intra-Community air services and the pricing of intra-Community air services. It also lays down temporary rules on the supply of groundhandling services at Union airports.

The application of Chapter III of this Regulation to the airport of Gibraltar is understood to be without prejudice to the respective legal positions of the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom with regard to the dispute over sovereignty over the territory in which the airport is situated.

No undertaking established in the Community shall be permitted to carry by air passengers, mail and/or cargo for remuneration and/or hire unless it has been granted the appropriate operating licence.

An undertaking meeting the requirements of this Chapter shall be entitled to receive an operating licence.

The competent licensing authority shall not grant operating licences or maintain them in force where any of the requirements of this Chapter are not complied with.

Without prejudice to any other applicable provisions of Community, national, or international law, the following categories of air services shall not be subject to the requirement to hold a valid operating licence:

The competent licensing authority shall closely assess whether an undertaking applying for the first time for an operating licence can demonstrate that:

For the purposes of the assessment referred to in paragraph 1, each applicant shall submit a business plan for, at least, the first three years of operation. The business plan shall also detail the applicant's financial links with any other commercial activities in which the applicant is engaged either directly or through related undertakings. The applicant shall also provide all relevant information, in particular the data referred to in point 1 of Annex I.

Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to an undertaking applying for an operating licence intended to cover operations with aircraft of less than 10 tonnes maximum take-off mass (MTOM) and/or less than 20 seats. Such undertakings shall demonstrate that their net capital is at least EUR 100 000 or provide, when required by the competent licensing authority, all relevant information for the purposes of the assessment referred to in paragraph 1, in particular the data referred to in point 1 of Annex I.

The competent licensing authority may nevertheless apply paragraphs 1 and 2 to an undertaking applying for an operating licence under the provisions of the previous subparagraph that intends to operate scheduled air services or whose turnover exceeds EUR 3 million per year.

The granting and validity of an operating licence shall be dependent on the possession of a valid AOC specifying the activities covered by that operating licence.

Any modification to the AOC of a Community air carrier shall be reflected, where appropriate, in its operating licence.

The authority competent for the AOC and the competent licensing authority shall agree measures to proactively exchange information relevant for the assessment and retention of the AOC and operating licence.

Where it is likely that enforcement action will be necessary, the authority competent for the AOC and the competent licensing authority shall consult each other as soon as possible prior to taking such action, and work together in seeking to resolve the issues before action is taken. Where action is taken, the authority competent for the AOC and the competent licensing authority shall notify each other as soon as possible that action has been taken.

Where, for the purpose of issuing an operating licence, proof is required that the persons who will continuously and effectively manage the operations of the undertaking are of good repute or that they have not been declared bankrupt, the competent licensing authority shall accept as sufficient evidence in respect of nationals of Member States the production of documents issued by the competent authorities in the Member State of origin or the Member State where the person has his/her permanent residence showing that those requirements are met.

Where the Member State of origin or the Member State where the person has his/her permanent residence does not issue the documents referred to in paragraph 1, such documents shall be replaced by a declaration on oath or — in Member States where there is no provision for declaration on oath — by a solemn declaration made by the person concerned before a competent judicial or administrative authority or, where appropriate, a notary or qualified professional body of the Member State of origin or the Member State where the person has his/her permanent residence. Such authority, notary or qualified professional body shall issue a certificate attesting the authenticity of the declaration on oath or solemn declaration.

The competent licensing authority may require that the documents and certificates referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 be presented no more than three months after their date of issue.

An operating licence shall be valid as long as the Community air carrier complies with the requirements of this Chapter.

A Community air carrier shall at all times be able on request to demonstrate to the competent licensing authority that it meets all the requirements of this Chapter.

The competent licensing authority shall closely monitor compliance with the requirements of this Chapter. It shall in any case review compliance with these requirements in the following cases:

In case the competent licensing authority suspects that financial problems of a Community air carrier might affect the safety of its operations, it shall immediately inform the authority competent for the AOC.

The operating licence shall be resubmitted for approval when a Community air carrier:

A Community air carrier shall provide to the competent licensing authority its audited accounts no later than six months following the last day of the respective financial year, unless otherwise provided for in national law. During the first two years of operation of a Community air carrier, the data as referred to in point 3 of Annex I shall be made available to the competent licensing authority upon request.

The competent licensing authority may at any time assess the financial performance of a Community air carrier to which it has granted an operating licence by requesting the relevant information. As part of such an assessment, the Community air carrier in question shall update the data referred to in point 3 of Annex I and provide it to the competent licensing authority upon request.

A Community air carrier shall notify the competent licensing authority:

If the competent licensing authority deems the changes notified under paragraph 5 to have a significant bearing on the finances of the Community air carrier, it shall require the submission of a revised business plan incorporating the changes in question and covering, at least, a period of 12 months from its date of implementation as well as the data referred to in point 2 of Annex I, in addition to the information to be provided under paragraph 4.

The competent licensing authority shall take a decision on the revised business plan as to whether the Community air carrier can meet its existing and potential obligations during that period of 12 months. Such a decision shall be taken not later than three months after all the necessary information has been submitted to it.

In relation to Community air carriers licensed by it the competent licensing authority shall decide whether the operating licence shall be resubmitted for approval in case of change in one or more elements affecting the legal situation of a Community air carrier and, in particular, in the case of a merger or takeover.

Paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 shall not apply to Community air carriers exclusively engaged in operations with aircraft of less than 10 tonnes MTOM and/or less than 20 seats. Such Community air carriers shall at all times be able to demonstrate that their net capital is at least EUR 100 000 or to provide when required by the competent licensing authority the information relevant for the purposes of the assessment referred to in Article 9(2).

The competent licensing authority may nevertheless apply paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 to Community air carriers licensed by it that operate scheduled air services or whose turnover exceeds EUR 3 million per year.

The competent licensing authority may at any time assess the financial performance of a Community air carrier which it has licensed. Based upon its assessment, the authority shall suspend or revoke the operating licence if it is no longer satisfied that this Community air carrier can meet its actual and potential obligations for a 12-month period. Nevertheless, the competent licensing authority may grant a temporary licence, not exceeding 12 months pending financial reorganisation of a Community air carrier provided that safety is not at risk, that this temporary licence reflects, when appropriate, any changes to the AOC, and that there is a realistic prospect of a satisfactory financial reconstruction within that time period.

Based on the assessments referred to in paragraph 1 carried out from 1 March 2020 to 31 December 2021, the competent licensing authority may decide before the end of that period not to suspend or revoke the operating licence of the Union air carrier provided that safety is not at risk, and that there is a realistic prospect of a satisfactory financial reconstruction within the following 12 months. It shall review the performance of this Union air carrier at the end of the 12-month period and decide whether the operating licence shall be suspended or revoked and a temporary licence shall be granted on the basis of paragraph 1.

Where the Commission finds, on the basis of data published by Eurocontrol, which is the network manager for the air traffic network functions of the single European sky, that the reduction in the level of air traffic as compared to the level in the corresponding period in 2019 is persisting and is likely to persist, and also finds, on the basis of the best available scientific data, such as data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, that this situation is the result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 25a to amend this Regulation by extending the period of 1 March 2020 to 31 December 2020 referred to in paragraph 1a of this Article accordingly.

The Commission shall continuously monitor the situation using the criteria set out in paragraph 1b. Based on the information available to it, the Commission shall present a summary report on this matter to the European Parliament and to the Council by 15 November 2020. Where the criteria referred to in paragraph 1b are fulfilled, the Commission shall adopt the delegated act provided for in paragraph 1b as soon as possible.

Where, in the case of a prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the air transport sector in the Union, imperative grounds of urgency so require, the procedure provided for in Article 25b shall apply to delegated acts adopted pursuant to this Article.

Whenever there are clear indications that financial problems exist or when insolvency or similar proceedings are opened against a Community air carrier licensed by it the competent licensing authority shall without delay make an in-depth assessment of the financial situation and on the basis of its findings review the status of the operating licence in compliance with this Article within a time period of three months.

The competent licensing authority shall inform the Commission of its decisions, relating to the status of the operating licence.

When the audited accounts referred to in Article 8(4) have not been communicated within the deadline indicated in that Article, the competent licensing authority shall, without undue delay, request the Community air carrier to communicate these audited accounts.

If the audited accounts are not communicated within one month, the operating licence may be revoked or suspended.

The competent licensing authority shall suspend or revoke the operating licence if the Community air carrier knowingly or recklessly furnishes the competent licensing authority with false information on an important point.

In case a Community air carrier's AOC is suspended or withdrawn, the competent licensing authority shall immediately suspend or revoke that air carrier's operating licence.

The competent licensing authority may suspend or revoke the operating licence of a Community air carrier if such a carrier no longer satisfies the requirements relating to good repute set out in Article 7.

The competent licensing authority shall take a decision on an application as soon as possible, and not later than three months after all the necessary information has been submitted, taking into account all available evidence. The decision shall be communicated to the applicant. A refusal shall indicate the reasons therefor.

Procedures for granting, suspending and revoking operating licences shall be made public by the competent licensing authorities, which shall inform the Commission thereof.

A list of decisions of the competent licensing authorities to grant, suspend or revoke operating licences shall be published annually in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Aircraft used by a Community air carrier shall be registered, at the option of the Member State whose competent authority issues the operating licence, either in its own national register or in the national register of another Member State. However, when used under a dry lease or a wet lease agreement in accordance with Article 13, such aircraft may be registered in the national register either of any Member State or of a third country.

In accordance with paragraph 1, the competent authority shall, subject to applicable laws and regulations, accept on its national register, without any discriminatory fee and without delay, aircraft owned by nationals of other Member States and transfers from aircraft registers of other Member States. No fee shall be applied to transfers of aircraft in addition to the normal registration fee.

Without prejudice to Article 4(c), a Community air carrier may have one or more aircraft at its disposal through dry or wet lease agreement. Community air carriers may freely operate wet-leased aircraft registered within the Community except where this would lead to endangering safety. The Commission shall ensure that the implementation of such a provision is reasonable and proportionate and based on safety considerations.

A dry lease agreement to which a Community air carrier is a party or a wet lease agreement under which the Community air carrier is the lessee of the wet-leased aircraft shall be subject to prior approval in accordance with applicable Community or national law on aviation safety.

A Community air carrier wet leasing aircraft registered in a third country from another undertaking shall obtain prior approval for the operation from the competent licensing authority. The competent authority may grant an approval if:

The competent authority may attach conditions to the approval. Such conditions shall form part of the wet lease agreement.

The competent authority may refuse to grant an approval if there is no reciprocity as regards wet leasing between the Member State concerned or the Community and the third country where the wet-leased aircraft is registered.

The competent authority shall inform the Member States concerned about an approval it has granted for wet leasing aircraft registered in a third country.

Community air carriers shall be entitled to operate intra-Community air services.

Member States shall not subject the operation of intra-Community air services by a Community air carrier to any permit or authorisation. Member States shall not require Community air carriers to provide any documents or information which they have already supplied to the competent licensing authority, provided that the relevant information may be obtained from the competent licensing authority in due time.

If the Commission, on the basis of information obtained under Article 26(2), finds that the operating licence granted to a Community air carrier is not in compliance with the requirements of this Regulation it shall forward its findings to the competent licensing authority which shall send its comments to the Commission within 15 working days.

If the Commission, after examining the comments of the competent licensing authority, maintains that the operating licence is not compliant, or no comments have been received from the competent licensing authority it shall, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 25(2), take a decision to request the competent licensing authority to take the appropriate corrective measures or to suspend or revoke the operating licence.

The decision shall set a date by which the corrective measures or actions by the competent licensing authority shall be implemented. If the corrective measures or actions have not been implemented by that date the Community air carrier shall not be entitled to exercise its rights under paragraph 1.

The Community air carrier may resume exercising its rights under paragraph 1 upon notification to the Commission by the competent licensing authority that the corrective measures have been implemented and that the competent licensing authority has verified the implementation.

When operating intra-Community air services, a Community air carrier shall be permitted to combine air services and to enter into code share arrangements, without prejudice to the Community competition rules applicable to undertakings.

Any restrictions on the freedom of Community air carriers to operate intra-Community air services arising from bilateral agreements between Member States are hereby superseded.

Notwithstanding the provisions of bilateral agreements between Member States, and subject to the Community competition rules applicable to undertakings, Community air carriers shall be permitted by the Member State(s) concerned to combine air services and to enter into code share arrangements with any air carrier on air services to, from or via any airport in their territory from or to any point(s) in third countries.

A Member State may, in the framework of the bilateral air service agreement with the third country concerned, impose restrictions on code share arrangements between Community air carriers and air carriers of a third country, in particular if the third country concerned does not allow similar commercial opportunities to Community air carriers operating from the Member State concerned. In doing so, Member States shall ensure that restrictions imposed under such agreements do not restrict competition and are non-discriminatory between Community air carriers and that they are not more restrictive than necessary.

A Member State, following consultations with the other Member States concerned and after having informed the Commission, the airports concerned and air carriers operating on the route, may impose a public service obligation in respect of scheduled air services between an airport in the Community and an airport serving a peripheral or development region in its territory or on a thin route to any airport on its territory any such route being considered vital for the economic and social development of the region which the airport serves. That obligation shall be imposed only to the extent necessary to ensure on that route the minimum provision of scheduled air services satisfying fixed standards of continuity, regularity, pricing or minimum capacity, which air carriers would not assume if they were solely considering their commercial interest.

The fixed standards imposed on the route subject to that public service obligation shall be set in a transparent and non-discriminatory way.

In instances where other modes of transport cannot ensure an uninterrupted service with at least two daily frequencies, the Member States concerned may include in the public service obligation the requirement that any Community air carrier intending to operate the route gives a guarantee that it will operate the route for a certain period, to be specified, in accordance with the other terms of the public service obligation.

The necessity and the adequacy of an envisaged public service obligation shall be assessed by the Member State(s) having regard to:

When a Member State wishes to impose a public service obligation, it shall communicate the text of the envisaged imposition of the public service obligation to the Commission, to the other Member States concerned, to the airports concerned and to the air carriers operating the route in question.

The Commission shall publish an information notice in the Official Journal of the European Union:

Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 4, with respect to routes where the number of passengers expected to use the air service is less than 10 000 per annum, the information notice on a public service obligation shall be published either in the Official Journal of the European Union or in the national official journal of the Member State concerned.

The date of entry into force of a public service obligation shall not be earlier than the date of publication of the information notice referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 4.

When a public service obligation has been imposed in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 the Community air carrier shall be able to offer seat-only sales provided that the air service in question meets all the requirements of the public service obligation. Consequently that air service shall be considered as a scheduled air service.

When a public service obligation has been imposed in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2, any other Community air carrier shall at any time be allowed to commence scheduled air services meeting all the requirements of the public service obligation, including the period of operation that may be required in accordance with paragraph 2.

Notwithstanding paragraph 8, if no Community air carrier has commenced or can demonstrate that it is about to commence sustainable scheduled air services on a route in accordance with the public service obligation which has been imposed on that route, the Member State concerned may limit access to the scheduled air services on that route to only one Community air carrier for a period of up to four years, after which the situation shall be reviewed.

This period may be up to five years if the public service obligation is imposed on a route to an airport serving an outermost region, referred to in Article 299(2) of the Treaty.

The right to operate the services referred to in paragraph 9 shall be offered by public tender in accordance with Article 17, either singly or, in cases where justified for reasons of operational efficiency, for a group of such routes to any Community air carrier entitled to operate such air services. For reasons of administrative efficiency, a Member State may issue a single invitation to tender covering different routes.

A public service obligation shall be deemed to have expired if no scheduled air service has been operated during a period of 12 months on the route subject to such obligation.

In case of sudden interruption of service by the Community air carrier selected in accordance with Article 17, the Member State concerned may, in case of emergency, select by mutual agreement a different Community air carrier to operate the public service obligation for a period up to seven months, not renewable, under the following conditions:

The Commission and the Member State(s) concerned shall be informed without delay of the emergency procedure and of its reasons. At the request of a Member State, or on its own initiative, the Commission may, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 25(2) suspend the procedure if it considers after its assessment that it does not meet the requirements of this paragraph or is otherwise contrary to Community law.

The public tender required in Article 16(10) shall be conducted according to the procedure set out in paragraphs 2 to 10 of this Article.

The Member State concerned shall communicate the entire text of the invitation to tender to the Commission except where, in accordance with Article 16(5), it has made the public service obligation known through the publication of a notice in its national official journal. In such case the tender shall also be published in the national official journal.

The invitation to tender and the subsequent contract shall cover, inter alia, the following points:

The Commission shall make the invitation to tender known through an information notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The deadline for submission of tenders shall not be earlier than two months after the day of publication of such an information notice. In case the tender concerns a route to which the access had already been limited to one carrier in accordance with Article 16(9), the invitation to tender will be published at least six months before the start of the new concession in order to assess the continued necessity of the restricted access.

The information notice shall provide the following information:

The Member State(s) concerned shall communicate without delay and free of charge any relevant information and documents requested by a party interested in the public tender.

The selection among the submissions shall be made as soon as possible taking into consideration the adequacy of the service, including the prices and conditions which can be quoted to users, and the cost of the compensation required from the Member State(s) concerned, if any.

The Member State concerned may compensate an air carrier, which has been selected under paragraph 7, for adhering to the standards required by a public service obligation imposed under Article 16. Such compensation may not exceed the amount required to cover the net costs incurred in discharging each public service obligation, taking account of revenue relating thereto kept by the air carrier and a reasonable profit.

The Commission shall be informed in writing and without delay of the results of the public tender and of the selection by the Member State including the following information:

At a request of a Member State or on its own initiative, the Commission may request Member States to communicate, within one month, all relevant documents relating to the selection of an air carrier for the operation of a public service obligation. In case the requested documents are not communicated within the deadline, the Commission may decide to suspend the invitation to tender in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 25(2).

Member States shall take all necessary measures to ensure that any decision taken under Articles 16 and 17 can be reviewed effectively and, in particular, as soon as possible on the grounds that such decisions have infringed Community law or national rules implementing Community law.

In particular, at a request of a Member State or on its own initiative, the Commission may request Member States to communicate, within two months:

At the request of a Member State which considers that the development of a route is being unduly restricted by the terms of Articles 16 and 17, or on its own initiative, the Commission shall carry out an investigation and, within six months of receipt of the request and in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 25(2), shall take a decision on the basis of all relevant factors on whether Articles 16 and 17 shall continue to apply in respect of the route concerned.

The exercise of traffic rights shall be subject to published Community, national, regional and local operational rules relating to safety, security, the protection of the environment and the allocation of slots.

A Member State, after consultation with interested parties including the air carriers and airports concerned, may regulate, without discrimination among destinations inside the Community or on grounds of nationality or identity of air carriers, the distribution of air traffic between airports satisfying the following conditions:

Any decision to regulate the distribution of air traffic between the airports concerned shall respect the principles of proportionality and transparency, and shall be based on objective criteria.

A Member State concerned shall inform the Commission of its intention to regulate the distribution of air traffic or to change an existing traffic distribution rule.

The Commission shall examine the application of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article and, within six months of receipt of the information from the Member State, and in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 25(2), shall decide whether the Member State may apply the measures.

The Commission shall publish its decision in the Official Journal of the European Union and the measures shall not be applied before the publication of the Commission's approval.

With respect to traffic distribution rules existing at the time of the entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall at the request of a Member State and may on its own initiative examine the application of paragraphs 1 and 2 and, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 25(2), shall decide whether the Member State may continue to apply the measure.

The Commission shall publish its decisions made under this Article in the Official Journal of the European Union.

When serious environmental problems exist, the Member State responsible may limit or refuse the exercise of traffic rights, in particular when other modes of transport provide appropriate levels of service. The measure shall be non-discriminatory, shall not distort competition between air carriers, shall not be more restrictive than necessary to relieve the problems, and shall have a limited period of validity, not exceeding three years, after which it shall be reviewed.

When a Member State considers that action under paragraph 1 is necessary it shall, at least three months before the entry into force of the action, inform the other Member States and the Commission, providing adequate justification for the action. The action may be implemented unless within one month of receipt of the information a Member State concerned contests the action or the Commission, in accordance with paragraph 3, takes it up for further examination.

At the request of another Member State or on its own initiative, the Commission may, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 25(2), suspend the measures if they do not meet the requirements of paragraph 1 or are otherwise contrary to Community law.

A Member State may refuse, limit or impose conditions on the exercise of traffic rights to deal with sudden problems of short duration resulting from unforeseeable and unavoidable circumstances. Such action shall respect the principles of proportionality and transparency and shall be based on objective and non-discriminatory criteria.

The Commission and the other Member States shall be informed without delay of such action with its adequate justification. If the problems necessitating such action continue to exist for more than 14 days, the Member State shall inform the Commission and the other Member States accordingly and may, with the agreement of the Commission, prolong the action for further periods of up to 14 days.

At the request of the Member State(s) involved or on its own initiative, the Commission may suspend this action if it does not meet the requirements of paragraph 1 or is otherwise contrary to Community law.

Notwithstanding Article 21, for the period from 1 March 2020 until 31 December 2020, Member States may, without the agreement of the Commission referred to in Article 21(1), refuse, limit or impose conditions on the exercise of traffic rights if this action is necessary in order to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Such action shall respect the principles of proportionality and transparency and shall be based on objective and non-discriminatory criteria.

The Member State concerned shall inform the Commission and the other Member States without delay of such action as referred to in paragraph 1 and its duration, and shall provide them with adequate reasons justifying the need for that action. If the Member State modifies, suspends or withdraws such action after this Regulation has entered into force, it shall inform the Commission and the other Member States accordingly.

The Commission may, at the request of any other Member State or States involved, or on its own initiative, suspend the action referred to in paragraph 2 if it does not meet the requirements referred to in paragraph 1 or is otherwise contrary to the Union law.

Where the Commission finds, on the basis of the best scientific knowledge, evidence and data, such as data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, confirming the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic, that refusals, limitations or impositions of conditions on the exercise of traffic rights by Member States are likely to be necessary beyond the period referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 25a to amend this Regulation by extending that period accordingly.

The Commission shall continuously monitor the situation using the criteria referred to in paragraph 4. Based on the information available, the Commission shall present a summary report on this matter to the European Parliament and to the Council by 15 November 2020. Where necessary, the Commission shall adopt the delegated act referred to in paragraph 4 as soon as possible.

Where, in the case of a prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the air transport sector in the Union, imperative grounds of urgency so require, the procedure provided for in Article 25b shall apply to delegated acts adopted pursuant to this Article.

Without prejudice to Article 16(1), Community air carriers and, on the basis of reciprocity, air carriers of third countries shall freely set air fares and air rates for intra-Community air services.

Notwithstanding the provisions of bilateral agreements between Member States, Member States may not discriminate on grounds of nationality or identity of air carriers in allowing Community air carriers to set fares and rates for air services between their territory and a third country. Any remaining restrictions on pricing, including with respect to routes to third countries, arising from bilateral agreements between Member States are hereby superseded.

Air fares and air rates available to the general public shall include the applicable conditions when offered or published in any form, including on the Internet, for air services from an airport located in the territory of a Member State to which the Treaty applies. The final price to be paid shall at all times be indicated and shall include the applicable air fare or air rate as well as all applicable taxes, and charges, surcharges and fees which are unavoidable and foreseeable at the time of publication. In addition to the indication of the final price, at least the following shall be specified:

where the items listed under (b), (c) and (d) have been added to the air fare or air rate. Optional price supplements shall be communicated in a clear, transparent and unambiguous way at the start of any booking process and their acceptance by the customer shall be on an ‘opt-in’ basis.

Without prejudice to Article 16(1), access to air fares and air rates for air services from an airport located in the territory of a Member State to which the Treaty applies, available to the general public shall be granted without any discrimination based on the nationality or the place of residence of the customer or on the place of establishment of the air carrier's agent or other ticket seller within the Community.

By way of derogation from point (d) of Article 11(1) of Council Directive 96/67/EC ( 2 ), contracts of or authorisations granted to suppliers of groundhandling services selected on the basis of the procedure laid down in Article 11(1) of that Directive that expire in the period from 28 May 2020 until 31 December 2021 may be prolonged until 31 December 2022.

By way of derogation from point (e) of Article 11(1) of Directive 96/67/EC, for the period from 1 March 2020 to 31 December 2021, where a supplier of groundhandling services ceases its activity before the end of the period for which it was selected, the managing body of the airport or the competent authority of the Member State, may choose a groundhandling service provider directly to provide the services for a maximum period of six months or for a period until 31 December 2021, whichever is the longer.

Where the Commission finds, on the basis of data published by Eurocontrol, that the reduction in the level of air traffic, as compared to the level in the corresponding period in 2019, is persisting and is likely to persist, that this situation is the result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that it results in interruption of supply of groundhandling services or difficulties in access to financing for suppliers of groundhandling services at Union airports, the Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 25a to amend this Regulation by extending the periods referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article accordingly.

The Commission shall continuously monitor the situation using the criteria set out in paragraph 3. Based on the information available to it, the Commission shall present a summary report on this matter to the European Parliament and to the Council by 15 November 2020. Where necessary, the Commission shall adopt the delegated act provided for in paragraph 3 as soon as possible.

Where, in the case of a prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the air transport sector in the Union, imperative grounds of urgency so require, the procedure provided for in Article 25b shall apply to delegated acts adopted pursuant to this Article.

The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.

Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 3 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 9(1b), 21a(4) and 24a(3) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of one year from 28 May 2020.

The delegation of power referred to in Articles 9(1b), 21a(4) and 24a(3) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.

As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 9(1b), 21a(4) and 24a(3) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and to the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

Delegated acts adopted under this Article shall enter into force without delay and shall apply as long as no objection is expressed in accordance with paragraph 2. The notification of a delegated act to the European Parliament and to the Council shall state the reasons for the use of the urgency procedure.

Either the European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 25a. In such a case, the Commission shall repeal the act immediately following the notification of the decision to object by the European Parliament or by the Council.

Member States and the Commission shall cooperate in applying and in monitoring the application of this Regulation.

In order to carry out its duties under this Regulation the Commission may obtain all necessary information from Member States, which shall also facilitate the provision of information by air carriers licensed by their competent licensing authorities.

Member States shall, according to their national legislation, take the necessary measures to ensure appropriate confidentiality of the information received by them pursuant to this Regulation.