Aviation law and drone law

Do you need help with leasing of aircraft or the purchase and sale of planes and helicopters? Who can assist with an air operator certificate (AOC) for commercial air traffic? What are the rules on claim adjustment in case of a plane crash? Do you need help with drone law and other matters related to drones (so-called UAS)?

Many legal issues can arise for an airline. If the company is transporting passengers or goods by plane or helicopter, an operating permit, a so-called air operator certificate (AOC), is required. The airline also needs an operative license (OL), regulating the right to perform commercial air traffic within the EU. For an airline, there are requirements that it has its own airworthiness organization, a CAMO or continuing airworthiness management organization. If the airline is training pilots for certificates or type rating, or training cabin crew, it needs to be an approved training organization (ATO). The airline needs a safety approval, and the aircraft it uses need to be EASA-approved.

In addition, the airline may want to perform specialised air operations such as aerial work with aircraft, for example aerial lifts, inspections, firefighting or photography/video photography. These activities are usually called utility flights. In operating an airline, many other legal questions might arise, for instance related to passenger rights (EU261), unruly passengers, staffing, tenancy law, corporate law, commercial contracts and collaboration agreements, for instance for ground handling.

ASTRA ADVOKATER has broad experience of the legal matters related to establishing and operating an airline, both rotor and fixed wing. We assist drone companies with matters related to permits under the GDPR or the Swedish Camera Surveillance Act (Kamerabevakningslag 2018:1200), as well as incident reporting regarding drone activity.

We also assists airlines and passengers in claim adjustment matters – such as damage to property or personal injury – in Sweden and internationally. We assist pilots in criminal cases and regarding certificate issues. We assist victims in aviation-related criminal cases.

Thanks to our international network, we can provide counseling in legal, procedural and practical matters, regardless of where an investigation is being performed.