• For the purposes of implementing this regulation; the following words and phrases, wherever they appear, shall have the meanings indicated opposite each of them, unless the context requires otherwise:

  • 1- Kingdom: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

  • 2- Authority: The General Authority of Civil Aviation in the Kingdom.

  • 3- Aircraft: Any machine capable of sustaining itself in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air, other than those reflected from the surface of the earth.

  • 4- Airport: A defined area of land or water including buildings, installations, and equipment intended wholly or partly for the arrival, departure, and surface movement of aircraft.

  • 5- Airport Cluster: Means two or more airports grouped together serving the same city or area.

  • 6- Airport Operator: The entity responsible for managing the infrastructure at the airport, coordinating and managing the activities of the various operators present at the airport, or the relevant airport cluster, including:

    • A- When any airport or airport cluster is managed and operated by several separate entities, each of these entities is considered part of the airport operator for the purpose of implementing this regulation.

    • B- When only one entity is established to manage and operate several airports or an airport cluster, each of these airports or airport clusters is considered separate for the purpose of implementing this regulation.

  • 7- Airspace Domain: Means the part of the earth's atmosphere in which aircraft movement and navigation are controlled according to the Kingdom's systems and regulations.

  • 8- Airspace User Beneficiary: Is the beneficiary of air navigation services, such as the aircraft operator, and if the aircraft operator cannot be determined, the aircraft owner is the beneficiary.

  • 9- Authorized Airspace User Beneficiary: Is the aircraft operator licensed by the Authority.

  • 10- Evaluation Period: Is the time period specified by the Authority for applying fees over multiple years.

  • 11- Air Navigation Services: Services provided to ensure the safe and efficient management of air traffic in the airspace, including the following services as outlined in Annex 4:

    • A- Air Traffic Management Services.

    • B- Air Navigation Systems Services.

    • C- Search and Rescue Services in Air Navigation.

    • D- Meteorological Services for Air Navigation.

    • E- Aeronautical Information Management Services.

    • F- Flight Procedure Design Services.

    • G- Air Inspection and Evaluation Services.

    • H- Aviation Obstacle Evaluation Services.

    • I- Any other service determined by the Authority.

  • 12- ServiceProvider

  • : An entity accredited by the Authority and permitted to provide air navigation services according to the provisions of this regulation.13- Fees

  • : Means the fees imposed on airspace users, approved by the Authority, in exchange for benefiting from air navigation services.14- Fee Imposition Area

    • : Means a specific geographical area or a defined volume of airspace where specific fees are imposed on airspace users, divided into two sections:

    • A- En-route: Means a defined area of airspace where air navigation services are provided for the use of air routes in that area; according to a unified cost base and a unified fee.

  • B- At the airport: Means the airport or group of airports where air navigation services are provided at the airport; according to a unified cost base and a unified price.15- Expected Cost

  • : Means the cost of providing air navigation services expected to be incurred during a specified future time period.16- Actual Costs

  • : Means the cost incurred in the previous calendar year for providing air navigation services; verified through audited accounts.17- Aircraft Movements: Means each takeoff or landing operation performed by the aircraft, also known as (

  • ATMS).18- Service Unit

  • : Means a standardized measure of the quantity of aircraft movements, based on additional factors such as flight distance and/or aircraft size and/or level of use within the airspace.19- Basic Value of Expected

  • Costs: Means the initial estimated cost, estimated based on the actual costs from the previous evaluation period.20- Key Performance

  • Indicators: Means the quantitative and qualitative metrics set to evaluate the performance of the service provider, also known as ( KPIs).

• 1- All service providers must comply with all the provisions contained in this regulation.

• 2- Air navigation services are classified into:

  • First: Main air navigation services include:

    • A- Air traffic management services.

    • B- Air navigation systems services.

    • C- Search and rescue services in the field of air navigation.

    • D- Meteorological services for air navigation.

    • E- Aeronautical information management services.

    • F- Aviation obstacle assessment services.

  • Second: Subsidiary air navigation services include:

    • A- Flight procedure design services.

    • B- Aerial inspection and evaluation services.

• 3- Anyone wishing to provide subsidiary air navigation services in the Kingdom must apply for an economic license from the Authority.

• 4- Obtaining an economic license is not required to provide main air navigation services in the Kingdom, and these services are provided based on a decision issued by the Authority.

• 5- The air navigation service provider is prohibited from agreeing with others to perform any of the services they are permitted to provide without obtaining prior approval from the Authority.

• 1- The economic license is considered personal property of the licensee, and its ownership cannot be transferred or waived to others. A new license application must be submitted if desired.

• 2- The authority issues an economic license to provide one or more air navigation services in the Kingdom to the applicant, provided that the license includes the following:

  • A- Name of the service.

  • B- Location of providing this service.

• 3- The service provider is prohibited from providing any air navigation service unless it is specified in their economic license.

• 4- The service provider must notify the authority if they wish to make substantial changes in the size or scope of their services.

• 5- The duration of economic licenses is five years from the date of issuance, renewable.

• 6- The service provider wishing to renew their economic license must submit a renewal application to the authority at least 90 days before the expiration date of their license.

• 7- The authority may suspend the economic license if the commercial register of the service provider is suspended.

• 8- The economic license ends if any of the following cases occur:

  • A- Expiration of the specified license period without renewal.

  • B- Approval of the authority on the service provider's request to suspend or cancel the license.

  • C- Termination of the legal entity of the service provider.

  • D- Suspension or cancellation of the standards and safety license issued by the authority.

  • E- Cancellation of the commercial register of the service provider.

• The Authority issues the economic license for subsidiary air navigation services as mentioned in paragraph number (2) of Article (2) to the applicant, if the following requirements are met and the application form information is completed as stated in Annex 1:

• 1- It must be an entity established in the Kingdom and provide proof of that.

• 2- Provide a valid Saudi commercial registration.

• 3- Provide proof of experience for not less than three years, or the applicant must prove his ability to provide the

• operational experience for these services by appointing key employees with experience in this field.

• 4- Provide proof of financial solvency by submitting the financial statements for the last two fiscal years, or provide any document proving financial solvency if the applicant is new.

• 5- Submit a business plan for the first two years.

• 6- Fulfill all the standards and security and safety requirements issued by the Authority to provide those services.

• 7- Provide proof of payment of the financial fee for issuing the economic license.

1- The service provider must provide the Authority with information related to the actual costs, the difference between the actual costs and the expected costs stated in the fee proposal annually, and any other financial data requested by the Authority.

2- The service provider must provide the Authority with information related to aircraft movements and service units, and the difference between the actual movements and the expected movements in the fee proposal annually, and any other operational data requested by the Authority.

1- When preparing fees for the first time or updating them, the service provider must consult with approved airspace users and airport operators regarding the determination of expected costs, service units, and expected fees before the start of the evaluation period and submit the fee proposal to the Authority.

2- All airspace users and airport operators have the right to participate in the consultation, and the service provider must consult them at least once a year to discuss the implementation mechanism of the provisions contained in this regulation.

3- The service provider must provide the Authority with the outputs of any consultation within a period not exceeding 30 days from the date it is conducted.

• 1- All airport operators in the Kingdom must sign an agreement with one or more air navigation service providers accredited by the Authority for the services provided to the airport, in accordance with the provisions of this regulation.

• 2- The service provision agreement between air navigation service providers and airport operators must include at least the following aspects, and must be in compliance with all the provisions contained in this regulation:

  • A- Ownership of assets and operational structure.

  • B- Scope and duration of the agreement, which should not extend beyond the end of the evaluation period.

  • C- Rights and obligations of the parties to the agreement.

  • D- Fees approved by the Authority and the determination of the areas where fees are imposed and the party responsible for collecting these fees from airspace users.

  • E- Performance and service quality requirements, including key performance indicators.

  • F- Monitoring and supervision mechanisms.

  • G- Rebalancing mechanisms.

• 3- The service provider must obtain the Authority's approval on the final draft of the agreement before signing it.

• First: The Authority shall organize the mechanism for determining the fees for air navigation services in the Kingdom.

• Second: The service provider must adhere to the following principles when determining the fees for air navigation services:

  • A- The fees should be within the best practices and standards applied internationally and within internationally competitive prices.

  • B- The fees should incentivize airspace users to operate in the Kingdom, increase capacity for airspace users, and improve performance.

  • C- The fees should contribute to providing air navigation services in a safe, efficient, and sustainable manner, aiming to achieve the highest levels of safety and performance quality.

  • D- Adherence to the cost-related principle to cover the costs of operation, maintenance, and investments related to air navigation services, with the possibility of achieving financial revenues exceeding direct and indirect operating costs, enabling the service provider to achieve reasonable returns on financial assets (before taxes and cost of capital), with the aim of providing appropriate funding for investment in infrastructure development and improvement of air navigation services.

  • E- Determining the costs of providing air navigation services using the basic value of the expected costs to provide those services to airspace users.

  • F- Determining the costs associated with each different air navigation service separately.

  • G- Transparency in determining costs for fee calculation.

  • H- Non-discrimination between airspace users when applying fees.

  • I- Not using revenues from certain services to cover the costs of other services among different air navigation services without the Authority's approval, provided there are clear and necessary justifications to ensure operational sustainability and enhance the financial sustainability of service providers.

• Third: The following procedures must be adhered to when determining the fees for air navigation services:

  • 1- The Authority shall determine and publish the start and end date of each evaluation period.

  • 2- Service providers must prepare the fee proposal for the specified evaluation period, including the annual fee proposal for each year within the evaluation period.

  • 3- The fee proposal must include all the data mentioned in item (Fourth) of this article.

  • 4- The service provider must consult stakeholders 30 days before submitting the fee proposal to the Authority.

  • 5- The service provider must submit the fee proposal to the Authority before the start of each evaluation period within the timeframe specified by the Authority.

  • 6- The Authority may decide to approve the fee proposal; or decide to reject it or make amendments to it.

  • 7- Service providers may determine a different service unit fee each year during a single evaluation period, provided that unit fees do not change within the same year.

  • 8- After the Authority approves the fee proposal, the service provider must announce it to all airspace users at least 90 days before its implementation.

  • 9- The Authority may amend the fees during the evaluation period based on the service provider's request, in case of logical justifications or exceptional circumstances.

  • 10- The service provider must submit a performance and compliance report to the Authority at the end of each year of the evaluation period, and a comprehensive report at the end of each evaluation period.

  • 11- In case of any discrepancies between the approved fee proposal for the previous evaluation period and the actual performance of air navigation services as stated in the end-of-evaluation-period report, any discrepancies in air traffic data or costs shall be corrected in the next evaluation period.

• Fourth: The service provider must prepare the fee proposal before the start of the evaluation period according to the model and information provided in Annex 1, including the following fee determination requirements as a minimum:

  • 1- Determining the fee imposition areas as outlined in Article Nine.

  • 2- Establishing the cost base for fees as outlined in Article Ten.

  • 3- Data on major investments considered when calculating expected costs.

  • 4- Air traffic forecasts as outlined in Article Eleven.

  • 5- Determining service unit fees for each fee imposition area as outlined in Article Twelve.

  • 6- The final report on the results of stakeholder consultation, including points of agreement and objections, and the air navigation service provider's justification for the final fee proposal.