Regulation (EC) No 785/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on insurance requirements for air carriers and aircraft operators

The objective of this Regulation is to establish minimum insurance requirements for air carriers and aircraft operators in respect of passengers, baggage, cargo and third parties.

In respect of the carriage of mail, the insurance requirements are those set out in Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92 and in the national laws of the Member States.

This Regulation shall apply to all air carriers and to all aircraft operators flying within, into, out of, or over the territory of a Member State to which the Treaty applies.

This Regulation shall not apply to:

The application 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.

Application of this Regulation to Gibraltar airport shall be suspended until the arrangements included in the Joint Declaration made by the Foreign Ministers of the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom on 2 December 1987 enter into operation. The Governments of Spain and the United Kingdom will inform the Council of such date of entry into operation.

Air carriers and aircraft operators referred to in Article 2 shall be insured in accordance with this Regulation as regards their aviation-specific liability in respect of passengers, baggage, cargo and third parties. The insured risks shall include acts of war, terrorism, hijacking, acts of sabotage, unlawful seizure of aircraft and civil commotion.

Air carriers and aircraft operators shall ensure that insurance cover exists for each and every flight, regardless of whether the aircraft operated is at their disposal through ownership or any form of lease agreement, or through joint or franchise operations, code-sharing or any other agreement of the same nature.

This Regulation is without prejudice to the rules on liability as arising from:

Air carriers and, when so required, aircraft operators, as referred to in Article 2, shall demonstrate compliance with the insurance requirements set out in this Regulation by providing the competent authorities of the Member State concerned with a deposit of an insurance certificate or other evidence of valid insurance.

For the purpose of this Article ‘Member State concerned’ shall mean the Member State which has granted the operating licence to the Community air carrier or the Member State where the aircraft of the aircraft operator is registered. For non-Community air carriers and aircraft operators using aircraft registered outside the Community, ‘Member State concerned’ shall mean the Member State to or from which the flights are operated.

By way of exception from paragraph 1, Member States overflown may require that air carriers and aircraft operators referred to in Article 2 produce evidence of valid insurance in accordance with this Regulation.

With regard to Community air carriers and aircraft operators using aircraft registered in the Community, the deposit of evidence of insurance in the Member State referred to in paragraph 2 is sufficient for all Member States, without prejudice to the application of Article 8(6).

In exceptional cases of insurance-market failure, the Commission may determine, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 9(2), the appropriate measures for the application of paragraph 1.

For liability in respect of passengers, the minimum insurance cover shall be 250 000 SDRs per passenger. However, in respect of non-commercial operations by aircraft with a MTOM of 2 700  kg or less, Member States may set a lower level of minimum insurance cover, provided that such cover is at least 100 000 SDRs per passenger.

For liability in respect of baggage, the minimum insurance cover shall be 1 288 SDRs per passenger in commercial operations.

For liability in respect of cargo, the minimum insurance cover shall be 22 SDRs per kilogram in commercial operations.

Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall not apply with respect to flights over the territory of the Member States carried out by non-Community air carriers and by aircraft operators using aircraft registered outside the Community which do not involve a landing on, or take-off from, such territory.

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 8a amending the values referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article where amendments to the relevant international agreements make this necessary.

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 8a amending the values referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article where amendments to the relevant international agreements make this necessary.

Member States shall ensure that air carriers and aircraft operators referred to in Article 2 comply with this Regulation.

For the purposes of paragraph 1 and without prejudice to paragraph 7, with respect to overflights by non-Community air carriers or aircraft registered outside the Community which do not involve a landing on or take-off from any Member State, as well as with respect to stops in Member States by such aircraft for non-traffic purposes, the Member State concerned may request evidence of compliance with the insurance requirements laid down in this Regulation.

Where necessary, Member States may request additional evidence from the air carrier, the aircraft operator or the insurer concerned.

Sanctions for infringement of this Regulation shall be effective, proportional and dissuasive.

With regard to Community air carriers, these sanctions may include the withdrawal of the operating licence, subject to and in accordance with the relevant provisions of Community law.

With regard to non-Community air carriers and to aircraft operators using aircraft registered outside the Community, the sanctions may include refusal of the right to land on the territory of a Member State.

Where Member States are not satisfied that the conditions of this Regulation are met, they shall not allow an aircraft to take off, before the air carrier or aircraft operator concerned has produced evidence of adequate insurance cover in accordance with this Regulation.

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 Article 6(5) and Article 7(2) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 26 July 2019. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the five-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.

The delegation of power referred to in Article 6(5) and Article 7(2) 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 ([^E0001]).

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 Article 6(5) and Article 7(2) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and 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.

The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee set up by Article 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access for Community air carriers to intra-Community air routes ([^E0002]).

Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The Committee may furthermore be consulted by the Commission on any other matter concerning the application of this Regulation.

The Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the operation of this Regulation by 30 April 2008.

Upon request, Member States shall submit information on the application of this Regulation to the Commission.