Üllar Salumäe, the director of the aviation services department at the Transport Administration, told ERR that the aviation sector currently contributes about €260,000 annually to the authority's budget through state fees. Specifically, €263,000 was collected in 2022 and €258,000 in 2023 from state fees, which funded various services provided to airlines, their employees and aircraft owners.

"We issue different certificates and permits for companies, equipment, aircraft and individuals. Some of these procedures are subject to state fees," Salumäe explained.

According to the State Fees Act, as of last July, for instance, reviewing an application for an aviation operation license under the Aviation Act runs a state fee of €640, and reviewing an application to amend an aviation operation license costs €320.

The State Fees Act lists 140 different fees, with rates ranging from a few euros to thousands. The lowest fee is €4 for reviewing an application for the recognition and the extension of recognition of a person applying security measures, while the highest is €11,510 for reviewing an application for issuing an airline's certificate, changing operational conditions and maintaining the certificate for MTOW aircraft weighing over 25 metric tons.

Salumäe mentioned that the aviation services department at the Transport Administration currently employs 45 specialists across various fields.

"There are 5-6 main areas of activity, with different tasks in each field. If looking for a common denominator, it would be ensuring aviation safety through actions such as supervising companies to ensure their activities comply with current regulations, licensing personnel to ensure competent individuals work in the aviation sector, etc."

When asked whether the fees and charges collected cover the associated costs, Salumäe replied, "Definitely not at the moment; the difference is multiple times over."

To mitigate the situation, the possibility of increasing fees and charges is currently being considered, Salumäe said: "In cooperation with the Ministry of Climate, we are discussing different options to enhance aviation safety oversight capabilities, including additional financing options. Increasing state fees or establishing supervisory charges is one possibility."

He pointed out that a methodology where the aviation sector directly covers the costs associated with oversight is widely used in Europe, and Estonia is one of the few countries not using this methodology.

"We are also exploring the possibility of adopting this methodology," the director of the aviation department at the Transport Administration remarked.

The need for state fees to align with their associated costs has also been recognized by others, such as Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets when he discussed the fees and charges for services provided by the Ministry of the Interior at the beginning of March. The idea of increasing fees in the justice sector has also been discussed by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Villu Kõve.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!