1.1. The air navigation services charges are collected for the provision of air navigation services in the FIR Warszawa controlled airspace on IFR and mixed (VFR/IFR or IFR/VFR) flights.

1.2. The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, hereinafter referred to as PANSA, acts as an air navigation services provider, manages the airspace and the air traffic flow within the FIR Warszawa. Additionally, Port Lotniczy Bydgoszcz S.A. (Bydgoszcz Airport), hereinafter referred to as PLB at Bydgoszcz aerodrome and Warmia i Mazury Sp. z o.o., hereinafter referred to as WiM at Olsztyn - Mazury aerodrome are certified and designated terminal air navigation service providers.

1.3. Following air navigation services charges are collected: 

1.3.1. for en-route service;

1.3.2. for terminal navigation service.

1.4. The use of the services provided by PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively is tantamount to the acceptance by the customer of all charges and conditions set out in GEN 4.2.

1.5. Definitions:

1.5.1. Mixed flight: a flight which is partly performed under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and in part performed under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR);

1.5.2. Maximum take-off weight (MTOW): maximum take-off weight permissible for take-off specified in the Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM). Where an aircraft has multiple certified maximum take-off weights, the highest maximum take-off weight shall be the basis of the air navigation charges calculation;

1.5.3. Polish military aircraft: an aircraft used by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland;

1.5.4. Customer: a natural or legal person or an entity not having the status of a legal person being the user of the FIR Warszawa airspace to whom PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively renders the air navigation services;

1.5.4.1. Airspace user: an owner or any other entity registered as an aircraft operator in the aircraft register kept by the state of aircraft registration;

1.5.4.2. Another entity actually performing or on behalf of whom such an air operation is performed, in particular:

an air carrier, a natural or legal person or an entity not having the status of a legal person who is not an aircraft owner and uses an aircraft under rent, lease, lend or similar agreement authorizing such a person or entity to operate a particular aircraft.

According to the Decision No 19/163 of the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation EUROCONTROL dated 28 November 2019 amending the “Conditions of Application of the Route Charges System and Conditions of Payment”:

1.6. A person liable to pay the charges shall be the person who was the operator of the aircraft at the time when the flight was performed. The ICAO designator or another recognized designator in the identification of the flight may be used to identify the operator of the aircraft.

1.7. 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.

1.8. A separate flight within the FIR Warszawa is any flight:

1.8.1. between two aerodromes located on the territory of the Republic of Poland; 

1.8.2. between an aerodrome located on the territory of the Republic of Poland and within the boundary of the FIR Warszawa or vice versa;

1.8.3. between two boundaries of the FIR Warszawa without landing;

1.8.4. commenced and ended at the same aerodrome.

The term "aerodrome" also applies to an airfield or any other area adapted for aircraft take-off and landing operations. 

1.9. The Value Added Tax. 

To the charges calculated according to rates set out in chapter GEN 4.2 the value added tax on goods and services (VAT) shall be added according to:

1.9.1. the Polish law. On the date specified in point 1.13 zero rated VAT applies to air carriers operating flights chiefly in the international air transport (Article 83, paragraph 1, point 7 of Act on Value Added Tax) – on the basis of a list of air carriers published by the President of the Civil Aviation Authority in the CAA Official Journal. In the case of foreign air carriers – upon submitting to PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively an appropriate document certifying that the air carrier is in the country of establishment considered as an air carrier operating flights chiefly in the international air transport.

With regard to zero rating any non-Polish customer operating for reward shall be deemed to operate chiefly on international routes for the purposes of VAT on en route navigation services provided that this customer does not perform separate domestic carriage within the Republic of Poland;

1.9.2. the Agreement concluded between EUROCONTROL/CRCO and the Government of the Republic of Poland, where it was said that the airspace user must fulfill the condition mentioned in point 1.9.1 and the two following conditions jointly:

The competent Polish Authority shall communicate to EUROCONTROL, at least annually and prior to the billing of charges, the identity of Polish airlines (airlines with their headquarters registered in Poland) meeting all the above mentioned criteria in points 1.9.1 and 1.9.2 a) and b).

EUROCONTROL shall only apply zero rate in respect of en-route navigation services provided from the 1st day of the calendar month following the month during which the customer was reported to EUROCONTROL for zero VAT rating purposes. This implies that EUROCONTROL shall not retroactively zero rate for Polish VAT;

EUROCONTROL shall determine to what extent non-Polish customers meet the above mentioned criteria set in 1.9.2 a) and b) for zero rating. For this purpose EUROCONTROL shall require the aircraft operator to provide a duly certified copy of its Air Operator Certificate, including annexes, as established by the competent National Civil Aviation Administration;

1.9.3. The VAT accounting method stipulates the general rule "the place of service supply" (location for VAT purposes). According to this rule, the place of supply of service is the place where the user is established – with exemption on taxable persons established in the Republic of Poland, where the place of service supply is the place of service provider (PANSA, PLB or WiM).    

Invoices issued for tax payers:

When it comes to legal entities established outside the Republic of Poland and not being taxable persons for VAT purposes, VAT will be charged according to the 23% rate without prejudice to point 1.9.1.

With reference to the invoices issued on taxable persons established in the Republic of Poland and non-taxable persons, the accounting and invoicing of air navigation services remain unchanged.

The amended VAT Act of 1 January 2010 published in Journal of Laws No 195, item 1504 reflects the following acts:
 

1.9.4. The rules described in points 1.9.1, 1.9.2 and 1.9.3 above are also valid as refers to terminal navigation services.  

1.10. The customers using terminal navigation service are obliged to provide PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively with valid information about aircraft they intend to operate including aircraft registration numbers, types and maximum take-off weights:

1.10.1. not later than on the last working day of the calendar month in which the aircraft shall be operated;

1.10.2. not later than on the day of expiration of the twelve-month period calculated from the first day of declaration or the latest reoccurring day of declaration of the aircraft. 

1.11. The document referred to in point 1.5.2 including an official confirmation of the aircraft maximum take-off weight shall be attached to the aircraft declaration submitted to PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively for the first time or the aircraft declaration amending the data provided earlier.

1.12. If a customer fails to provide PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively with the information referred to in point 1.10 or produce the documents as set out in point 1.11, then the highest existing maximum take-off weight of an aircraft of a given type shall be applied in the charge calculations. If the aforementioned information is provided after the last working day of the month when a flight was performed, any claim concerning the amount of charge shall be rejected. 

1.13. These charges and the rules their collection become effective from 1 January 2025.

2.1. The terminal navigation service charge is levied for the provision of air navigation services provided by PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively to the aircraft in the initial and final phase of a flight involving take-off or landing at Polish aerodromes listed in the table in point 2.4. 

2.2. The terminal navigation service charges are levied for each IFR flight landing at the aerodromes listed in point 2.4 below and are split in two charging zones.

2.3. At all aerodromes mentioned in point 2.4, the charge shall be levied for each repeated approach with or without touchdown, except for the emergency situations where a repeated approach is necessary.

2.4. Two unit rates (J) shall be used for the calculation of terminal navigation service charges:

 

2.5. The terminal navigation service charge is calculated according to the following formula:

T = J x M

where:

T – terminal navigation service charge,

J – unit rate,

M – the weight factor calculated as the result of the quotient: MTOW by 50, raised to the 0.7 power and expressed as a figure taken to two decimal places,

MTOW – the maximum certified take-off weight in tonnes expressed as a figure taken to one decimal place.

2.6. If a customer fails to provide PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively with the required information on registration, types, versions and MTOWs of the aircraft operated by him, then the highest known MTOW of aircraft of a given type shall be applied for the calculation of the weight factor (M). The recalculation of this factor per each aircraft shall be effected after each amendment and is reported by such a customer subject to point 1.10 hereof.

3.1. The en-route service charge is levied for the air navigation services provided by PANSA in the en-route phase of a flight within the controlled airspace of the FIR Warszawa. The en-route charge shall be levied on each flight operated within the controlled airspace of the FIR Warszawa.

 

3.2. The en-route service charge is calculated, billed and collected by the Central Route Charges Office (CRCO), EUROCONTROL.

3.3. The en-route service charge is calculated in accordance with the following formula:

R = J x D x M
 

where:

R – en-route service charge,

J – unit rate mentioned in the table above to which the administrative charge collected by EUROCONTROL/CRCO for the maintenance of the multilateral en-route charging system is added; the administrative charge rate for 2025 is EUR 0.11,

D – the distance factor shall be obtained by dividing by 100 the number of kilometres flown in the great circle distance in FIR Warszawa between the entry and the exit point of the charging zones, according to the actual route flown by the aircraft concerned as recorded by the Network Manager. If the exit and entry point of one flight are identical in a charging zone, the distance factor shall be equal to the distance of the great circle distance between these points and the most distant point. The distance to be taken into account shall be reduced by 20 km for each take-off and each landing from/to controlled aerodromes within the territory of the Republic of Poland,

M – the weight factor calculated as the square root of the quotient: MTOW divided by 50 expressed as a figure taken to two decimal places,

MTOW – the maximum certified take-off weight of the aircraft as shown in the Aircraft Flight Manual in tonnes expressed as a figure taken to one decimal place.

3.4. If a customer fails to provide EUROCONTROL/CRCO with the required information on registrations, types, versions and MTOWs of the aircraft operated by him by the last working day of the calendar month in which the change occurs and does not do any updating/confirmation lack of changes of his fleet at least once a year then the highest existing MTOW of an aircraft of a given type shall be applied for the calculation of the weight factor (M).

3.5. The en-route charge on mixed flights (if the change of rules under which the flight is performed is within controlled airspace) is calculated for the distance of the flight performed under IFR rules according to unit rate for IFR flights.

4.1. The following flights are exempted from charges:

4.1.1. performed under Visual Flight Rules (VFR);

4.1.2. mixed – where part of the flight is performed under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and the remaining part is performed under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) – for the part of the flight performed in Polish airspace exclusively under VFR rules;

4.1.3. performed by aircraft of which the maximum take-off weight is less than 2 tonnes;

4.1.4. performed exclusively for the transportation of an official mission, of the reigning monarch and his/her closest family, Heads of state, Heads of Government and Government Ministers; in all these cases the flight's purpose must be confirmed by the appropriate flight status indicator, i.e. STS/HEAD without restriction of point 4.2 below. For state flights the status must be described as STS/STATE. The State status does not mean this flight is performed for the transport of officials but that this is a flight done for State purposes;

4.1.5. search and rescue, authorized by a competent SAR coordination body with the status indicator STS/SAR;

4.1.6. military performed by Polish military aircraft or military aircraft of a country where flights performed by Polish military aircraft are exempted from air navigation charges;

4.1.7. flights performed as military and exempted from charges on the basis of international agreements ratified as an Act of Parliament by the Republic of Poland;

4.1.8. military performed by military aircraft in an international programs in the frame of North Atlantic Treaty Organization in which Republic of Poland is a party;

4.1.9. navigation test flights performed by the air navigation services provider.

4.2. The flights defined as HEAD or STATE mentioned in point 4.1.4 should also be marked with the proper annotation in item 18 of the flight plan determining the level of this official person, e.g. RMK/Minister of Transport and/or RMK/ GOV.

5.1. An airspace user shall be responsible for the payment of all charges referred to in GEN 4.2 in the amount and time indicated on the invoice and any related liabilities, including interest on delayed payments as follows:

5.1.1. in regard to the en-route service, according to EUROCONTROL/CRCO procedures;

5.1.2. in regard to the terminal navigation service, if PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively in possession of credible information that a customer is a different entity than the airspace user as the aircraft owner/operator, the charges may be levied on such a customer. In the case that a customer other than the airspace user as the aircraft owner refuses to effect a payment or delays payments, the aircraft owner will be charged with due payments and interests.

5.2. Invoices for the provision of air navigation services are issued as follows:

5.2.1. for en-route service in euros (EUR) by EUROCONTROL/CRCO and according to its procedures. The unit rate of charges mentioned in point 3.1 was approved by EUROCONTROL enlarged Commision’s decision No 24/180 dated 28 November 2024 and was recalculated according to the exchange rate of 1 EUR = 4.27352 PLN. The basic unit rate calculated in this way amounted to EUR 93.43. Next, according to the Condition of Application of the Route Charges System and Condition of Payment, it shall be recalculated monthly by applying the average monthly rate of exchange between EUR and PLN for the month preceding the month in which the flight took place. The exchange rate applied shall be a monthly average of the "Closing Rate" calculated by Reuters based on the daily BID rate. The Monthly Adjusted Unit Rates are available at https://www.eurocontrol.int/crco#key-documents.

5.2.2. for terminal navigation service in Polish zlotys (PLN) by PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively. For terminal navigation services mentioned in points 5.3.2, 5.4, 5.5 and 5.6 the customers shall effect payments in Polish zlotys (PLN) on the account number shown on the invoice.

5.3. The payments for:

5.3.1. the provision of en-route service shall be made on the basis of invoices issued by EUROCONTROL/CRCO, in euro (EUR), into EUROCONTROL bank account shown on the invoice;

5.3.2. the terminal navigation service shall be collected on the basis of summary invoices issued by PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively for billing periods no longer than one calendar month or each time the operation has been performed.

5.4. For Customers occasionally using terminal navigation services, the terminal navigation charges may be prepaid before the services. The Customer shall contact PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively on the prepayment in the manner referred to in point 5.14.

5.5. In case when the Customer is in arrears with his payment or there is a reason to expect payment default, in order to secure debts, PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively may require prepayment in the amount of 100 % of the value of the navigation service before the service is provided, of which the Customer shall be notified. The prepayment shall be credited to the PANSA, PLB or WiM bank account respectively at least 48 hours before the day of the operation. PANSA, PLB or WiM shall receive a confirmation of prepayment as referred to in point 5.14.

5.6. A customer shall bear all bank costs and commissions related to the payments to PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively which are collected by a customer's bank or banks and institutions involved in the payment transactions.

5.7. A payer is obliged to provide an adequate description in the bank transfer reference field: number and PLN amount in respect of invoice paid and, in case of any deductions, also number and PLN amount in respect of invoice correction deducted.

5.8. Where a payment is not accompanied by the details specified in paragraph 5.7 or the details contain an obvious error, PANSA shall apply the payment first to late-payment-interest debit notes and then to the oldest invoices unpaid.

5.9. On late payment interest shall be charged in respect of:

5.9.1. en-route services, 13.79% per annum according to Decision of the enlarged Commission of EUROCONTROL No 24/181 dated 28 November 2024;

5.9.2. terminal navigation services, pursuant to the relevant Polish regulations in force, PANSA shall charge statutory interest on overdue payments.

5.10. Any claim raised in connection with the issued invoices shall be investigated as refers:

5.10.1. for en-route services – according to EUROCONTROL/CRCO procedures;

5.10.2. for terminal navigation services, provided that such a claim is received by PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively in writing within 30 days of the invoice issue date. PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively will investigate a claim within 30 days of the date when the claim was lodged.

5.11. No lodged claim shall release a customer from his obligation to pay all liabilities resulting from the invoices issued by PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively in due time.

5.12. Claims made to PANSA, PLB or WiM respectively by the customer concerning discrepancy between information in the flight plan and the data in the invoice reference will not be taken into account in the case of failure to update the flight plan.

5.13. PANSA has the right to refuse the provision of services to a customer using the airspace who fails to meet the payment terms and conditions of GEN 4.2 and of required by EUROCONTROL/CRCO.

5.14. Any enquiries and suggestions regarding the calculation and collection of charges on navigation services should be directed to the following addresses respectively:

5.15. Terms of payment and unit rates of en-route services are available on the website:
www.eurocontrol.int/crco lub r3.crco@eurocontrol.int