Economic Community of West African States
Supplementary Act A/SP.8/02/12 Relating to the Common Rules on the Conditions of Access to Air Transport Markets in ECOWAS Member States
Act 2-SP8 of 2012
- Published in official journal 60 on 17 February 2012
- Commenced
- [This is the version of this document at 17 February 2012.]
Article 1 – Definitions
For the purpose of this Supplementary Act, the following terms shall have the meanings assigned to them hereafter:—Aeronautical Authority: any governmental authority, corporate body or organ duly authorised to perform the functions of civil aviation;Air carrier: an air transport enterprise holding a valid approval issued by a member State.Airport: surface defined on land or water used for the arrival, departure and movements of the aircraft on the surface;Air service: flight or series of flights carrying, passengers, freight or mail for hire or reward;Capacity: Number of seats made available to the public or freight payload and mail on an air service for a determined period;Chicago Convention: Convention on International Civil Aviation signed in Chicago on 07 December 1944 incl. all its annexes;Community: The Economic Community of West African States as referred to in article 2 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty;Council: Council of Ministers as established under article 10 of ECOWAS revised TreatyECOWAS Commission: ECOWAS Commission established in article 17 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty as amended in June 2006;Flight: Air routing of an aircraft departing from a given airport to an airport of destination.ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organisation a Special Agency of the United Nations headquartered in Montreal, Canada;Member State: A State party to the ECOWAS Revised Treaty;Member States concerned: Member States between which or a member State within which an air service is operated;Member States involved: Member State concerned or member States that have issued approval to the airlines operating the air services;Non-scheduled air service: A commercial air service performed in a different way as compared with a scheduled service;Public service obligations: Obligations imposed on an air carrier to make, with respect to any air services that it may operate under an air carrier approval issued by an Aeronautical Authority, any necessary arrangements to ensure/provide services of general public interest which meet the standards set as regards continuity, regularity, capacity and costs; such standards would not be met if the air carrier had to bear in mind the commercial interest alone;Scheduled air service: a series of flights with all the following characteristics:i)it is performed, subject to consideration, with aircraft to carry passengers, freight and/or mail in such conditions that, on each flight, individual seats are made available to the public either directly by the air carrier, or through its authorized agents;ii)it is organized for the purpose of connecting two airports or more:either according to a published schedule: orwith such a regularity or frequency that it becomes part of an obvious systematic series;Traffic right: Right for an air carrier to carry, subject to payment, passengers, freight and/or mail on an air link between two or several airports in West and Central Africa.Article 2 – Object and scope
This Supplementary Act shall determine the conditions of access of the air carriers to scheduled and non-scheduled air services of the Community.An ECOWAS designated air carrier shall be permitted to operate between any two airports within the Community.Article 3 – Granting of traffic rights
Subject to compliance with the provisions of this Supplementary Act, the air carriers shall be designated and authorised by the memberStates concerned to exercise traffic rights on air services within ECOWAS territory.Article 4 – Designation and authorization
Article 5 – Public service obligations
Article 6 – Granting traffic rights to non-member States of ECOWAS
Article 7 – Operating rules
The exercise of traffic rights shall be subject to competition laws within the Community as enacted by the ECOWAS Treaty and community, national or local operating rules as published concerning aviation security, safety, and environmental protection and slot allocations.Article 8 – Operational flexibility
In operating scheduled and non-scheduled services, an air carrier may, on any or all flights and at its option:Article 9 – Cooperative arrangements
In operating the authorized services on the agreed routes, a designated air carrier of one State Party may enter into cooperative marketing arrangements such as blocked-space, code sharing, franchising or leasing arrangement, with an air carrier or air carriers of the other State Party.Article 10 – Conditions for operating business
Article 11 – Transitional provision
A Member State shall not be obligated to authorize the exercise of cabotage rights on its territory by air carriers holding a license issued by another Member State up to 12 months from the date of the coming into force of this Supplementary Act.Article 12 – Safety
Article 13 – Security
The Member States shall implement the provisions of the Supplementary Act A/SP.11/02/12/ establishing common rules on Civil Aviation Security in ECOWAS Member States.Article 14 – Report and cooperation
Article 15 – Implementation of the Supplementary Act
Article 16 – Amendments
Article 17 – Entry into force and publication
Article 18 – Depositary authority
This Supplementary Act shall be deposited at the Commission which shall transmit certified copies thereof to all member States and register same with the African Union (AU), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and such other organizations as may be decided by the Council.IN FAITH WHEREOF, WE, the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have signed this Supplementary ActHistory of this document
17 February 2012 this version
Consolidation