Aircraft Radio Station Licence

General (ICAO)

ICAO Annex 10 (Aeronautical Telecommunications) and the ITU Radio Regulations (International Telecommunication Union, Geneva) require that every aircraft radio station carry an approval (licence) issued by the State of Registry.

Purpose of licensing:

• Protection against unauthorised frequency use and interference,
• Linking the assigned frequencies to the registration mark, operator and emergency contacts,
• Basis for the Aircraft Radio Station Licence.

Carriage obligation (ICAO Annex 2 §2.2): The Aircraft Radio Station Licence is one of the prescribed documents to be carried on every flight.

Frequencies:

• VHF 118.000–137.000 MHz (8.33 kHz grid in Europe) for air–ground voice,
• 121.5 MHz emergency,
• HF for long range,
• Transponder 1090 MHz (reply) / 1030 MHz (interrogation),
• ELT frequencies 406 MHz / 121.5 MHz.

Europe (EASA / EU)

Regulation (EU) 1079/2012 mandates 8.33 kHz channel spacing EU-wide (since 1 Jan 2018 binding for VFR and IFR).

The radio station licence itself is regulated nationally; each EU State issues its own licences.

Germany (national)

Authority: The Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) is Germany's telecommunications authority and issues the aircraft radio station licence (Bordfunkstellengenehmigung) for every German-registered aircraft.

Application: Through the BNetzA online portal; after approval the owner receives the Frequenzzuteilungsurkunde (frequency assignment certificate) which must be carried on board.

Validity: The licence is unlimited in time as long as the operator does not change and the fees are paid. On change of operator or withdrawal from service the licence must be re-applied for or surrendered.

Content of the certificate:

• Registration mark and operator,
• Assigned frequencies,
• Transmitter power,
• Hex ID of the ELT (24-bit COSPAS-SARSAT identifier),
• Equipment types.

Violation: Transmitting without a licence is an administrative offence under §148 of the German Telecommunications Act (TKG) and may be fined up to EUR 100 000; wilful interference may be prosecuted criminally.