GEN 4.2  Air navigation services charges

1.   Terminal air navigation service charges

1.1   General
1.1.1  Pursuant to the provisions of Bilateral Agreement relating to Terminal Charges with ALBCONTROL, Air Navigation Services of Albania, the EUROCONTROL Agency is entrusted with the calculation, billing, collection and accounting of terminal charges on behalf of ALBCONTROL, but excluding enforced recovery of unpaid bills, in accordance with the laws and regulations in force in the Republic of Albania.
1.1.2  Conditions of Application of the Terminal Charges and Conditions of Payment are available on the ALBCONTROL website: www.albcontrol.al
1.1.3  Flight data to be used for the purpose of calculating terminal charges shall be those transmitted by ALBCONTROL for the purpose of calculating EUROCONTROL route charges.
1.1.4  The person liable to pay the charge shall be the person who was the operator of the aircraft at the time when the flight was performed. The ICAO designator or any other recognised designator in the identification of the flight may be used to identify the operator of the aircraft.

If the identity of the operator is not known, the owner of the aircraft shall be regarded as the operator, unless he proves which other person was the operator.
1.2   Definition of a chargeable flight
1.2.1  A terminal charge shall be levied for each flight performed under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) in accordance with the procedures laid down in application of the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices by an aircraft departing from any designated aerodrome in Albania at which ALBCONTROL provides the air navigation services.
1.3   Charging formula
1.3.1  The terminal charge R shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula:

R = t x N

where t is the unit rate of charge and N the number of service units corresponding to terminal services used or made available.
1.3.2  The unit rate of charge (t) shall be established in euro (EUR) with a maximum of two decimal points.
1.3.3  For a given departing flight, the number of service units in respect of terminal charges, designated N, expressed as a figure taken to two decimal places, shall be the quotient obtained by dividing by fifty the Maximum Take-off Weight (MTOW), to the power of 0.7. The Maximum Take-off Weight (MTOW) shall be expressed in metric tons as a figure to one decimal place and shall be the one used for calculating the EUROCONTROL route charge for the flight concerned.
1.4   Unit rate
1.4.1  ALBCONTROL shall notify the unit rate of charge to EUROCONTROL in euros with two decimal points, together with the corresponding cost-base and service units forecast.
1.4.2  The unit rate of charge shall be set for a calendar year.
1.4.3  Changes of unit rate shall only be effective from a first day of a month. The notification of change must be received by EUROCONTROL not later than the first day of the month for which the new unit rate applies or the new charging zone applies.
1.4.4  The unit rates of charge applicable from 1 January 2023 are:
Zone 1Zone 2
Tirana International Airport
(LATI)		Kukes International Airport
(LAKU)
EUR 219.45 EUR 109.73
1.5   Exemptions
1.5.1  The following flights are exempted from the payment of the terminal charges:
  1. Flight performed by aircraft of which the maximum take-off weight authorised is less than 2 (two) metric tons;
  2. Flights performed exclusively for the transport, on official mission, of the reigning Monarch and his/her immediate family, Heads of State, Heads of Government, and Government Ministers. In all cases, this must be substantiated by the appropriate status indicator or remark on the flight plan;
  3. Search and rescue flights authorized by the appropriate competent body;
  4. Military flights performed by military aircraft of any State;
  5. Flights performed exclusively for the purpose of checking or testing equipment used or intended to be used as ground aids to air navigation, excluding positioning flights by the aircraft concerned;
  6. Flights performed exclusively under VFR;
  7. Humanitarian flights authorized by the appropriate competent body.
1.6   Payment of terminal charges
1.6.1  The amounts billed shall be payable in Euros into the EUROCONTROL Central Route Charges Office’s bank account shown on the bill.
1.6.2  The amount of the charge is due on the date of performance of the flight. The latest value date by which payment must be received by EUROCONTROL shall be shown on the bill.
1.6.3  Payment shall be deemed to have been received by EUROCONTROL on the value date on which the amount due was credited into the banking establishment designated by EUROCONTROL, referred to in paragraph 1.6.1. The value date shall be the date on which EUROCONTROL can use the funds.
1.6.4  The time granted to users for payment of the terminal charge, i.e. the interval between the bill date and the date for payment shown on the bill, shall be identical to the time granted to users for payment of the EUROCONTROL route charges.
1.6.5  Payment shall be accompanied by a statement giving the references, dates and amounts in respect of bills paid and of any credit notes deducted.
1.6.6  Where a payment is not accompanied by the details specified in paragraph 1.6.4 above so as to allow its application to a specific bill or bills, EUROCONTROL shall apply the payment:
  • first to interest, and then
  • to the oldest bills unpaid.
1.6.7  Claims against bills must be submitted to EUROCONTROL in writing or by an electronic medium previously approved by EUROCONTROL. The latest date by which claims must be received by EUROCONTROL shall be shown on the bill and shall be the same as for the EUROCONTROL Route Charges System.
1.6.8  The date of submission of claims shall be the date on which the claims are received by EUROCONTROL.
1.6.9  Claims must be detailed and should be accompanied by any relevant supporting evidence.
1.6.10  Submission of a claim by a user shall not entitle him to make any deduction from the relevant bill unless so authorised by EUROCONTROL.
1.6.11  Where EUROCONTROL and a user are mutually debtor and creditor no compensation payments shall be effected without EUROCONTROL’s prior agreement.
1.6.12  Any charge which has not been paid by the latest date for payment shall be increased by the addition thereto of interest. The interest, entitled Interest on Late Payment, shall be simple interest calculated from day to day on the unpaid overdue amount.
1.6.13  The interest shall be calculated and billed in Euro. The rate of interest applicable on late payment of terminal charges is 9.97% per annum.
1.6.14  Where a debtor has not paid the amount due, measures may be taken by ALBCONTROL to enforce recovery.
1.6.15  Terminal charges are not subject to Value Added Tax (VAT).

2.   En-route air navigation service charges

2.1   EUROCONTROL route charges system
2.1.1  Pursuant to the provisions of EUROCONTROL Multilateral Agreement relating to Route Charges, the EUROCONTROL Agency is entrusted with the calculation, billing, collection and accounting of route charges on behalf of Albania.
2.1.2  Conditions of Applications of the Route Charges System and Conditions of Payment issued by EUROCONTROL are available on the EUROCONTROL website: www.eurocontrol.int/crco and on the ALBCONTROL website: www.albcontrol.al
2.1.3  The data required for calculating the route charge for a flight are derived from the information contained in the flight plan and sent to the EUROCONTROL Agency.
2.1.4  Airspace users are requested to note that the ICAO instructions on the completion of flight plan forms (as given in Appendix 2 of ICAO Doc 4444 - ATM/501) are scrupulously to be adhered with in order to avoid errors in calculating the charges and penalizing the users themselves.
2.2   Unit rate
2.2.1  The basic unit rate for en-route air navigation services within the Tirana FIR is available at Annex A of the Information on Conditions of Application of the Route Charges System, Conditions of Payment and Unit Rates.
2.2.2  The unit rate for route charges applicable from 1 January 2023 is EUR 50.36.
2.2.3  The unit rate is recalculated monthly by applying the monthly average of the “Closing Cross Exchange Rates” calculated by Reuters based on daily BID rates, for the month preceding that in which the flight took place.
2.2.4  The adjusted unit rates are available on the Central Charges Office (CRCO) website: www.eurocontrol.int/crco
2.3   Exemptions
2.3.1  The following flights are exempted from the payment of the route charges:
  1. Flights performed by aircraft of which the maximum take-off weight authorised is less than 2 (two) metric tons;
  2. Flights performed exclusively for the transport, on official mission, of the reigning Monarch and his/her immediate family, Heads of State, Heads of Government, and Government Ministers. In all cases, this must be substantiated by the appropriate status indicator or remark on the flight plan;
  3. Search and rescue flights authorized by the appropriate competent body;
  4. Military flights performed by military aircraft of any State;
  5. Flights performed exclusively for the purpose of checking or testing equipment used or intended to be used as ground aids to air navigation, excluding positioning flights by the aircraft concerned;
  6. Flights performed exclusively under VFR.
2.4   Payment of route charges
2.4.1  The route charges shall be payable in euros into the EUROCONTROL Central Route Charges Office’s bank account shown on the bill, in accordance with the conditions of payment set out in Annex 2 of the Conditions of Application of the Route Charges System and Conditions of Payment.
2.4.2  The dates by which payment should be received and claims submitted are indicated on the bill.
2.4.3  The rate of interest on late payment of route charges is set at 9.97% per annum with effect from 1 January 2023.
2.4.4  Route charges are not subject to Value Added Tax (VAT).
2.5   Information
2.5.1  Further information may be obtained from:
Post:

EUROCONTROL
Central Route Charges Office
Rue de la Fusee 96
B-1130 Brussels, Belgium

Tel:+32 2 7293832

Fax:+32 2 7299093

Email:r3.crco@eurocontrol.int

URL:www.eurocontrol.int/crco