Landing permits for private, charter and cargo flights

01What a landing permit is

A landing permit is the authorisation a state's civil aviation authority gives a foreign-registered aircraft to land at one of its airports. It is separate from the airport slot, the prior permission required (PPR) some airports ask for, and the ground handling booking: a flight can need all four.

Whether you need one depends on three things: the country, the purpose of the flight and whether the aircraft picks up or sets down passengers or cargo. Many states require a permit for every non-scheduled commercial flight; some also require one for private flights; a few only ask for advance notice. We check the rules for each country and airport on your routing before anything is filed.

02Flights we arrange landing permits for

The paperwork and the approval route differ by flight type, so tell us the purpose of the flight when you send the request.

• Private and business jet flights (general aviation), including owner flights and corporate shuttles.
• Charter and other non-scheduled commercial flights, passenger or cargo, where the authority may also ask for the charter contract and charterer details.
• Cargo and freighter flights, including dangerous goods and outsized loads, with the cargo manifest and DG declarations the authority requires.
• Technical stops for fuel or crew rest, where no passengers or cargo are taken on or off.
• Fifth-freedom traffic rights, when you carry commercial traffic between two foreign countries, which usually needs a separate traffic-rights approval on top of the landing permit.
• Medevac and air ambulance flights, which many authorities expedite on request.
• State and government flights, which need a diplomatic clearance requested through diplomatic channels rather than a civil permit.

03How we handle your request

Every permit sits in the same trip file as the rest of your flight, so a schedule change updates the permit, the slot and the handling together.

• We confirm which permits, slots and PPRs your routing needs, and flag any requirement that could delay the flight.
• We collect the aircraft, operator and crew documents once and keep them on file for later trips.
• We file with the authority, follow the request up during and outside office hours, and chase it until it is issued.
• We send the permit number and any conditions to you and the crew, and add them to the flight plan remarks where required.
• If the schedule moves, we revise or extend the permit before the original validity runs out.

04Documents usually required

Requirements vary by country, but most authorities ask for some or all of the following. Sending them with the request saves a round of questions.

• Certificate of registration and certificate of airworthiness
• Insurance certificate, sometimes with war-risk cover and a minimum liability amount
• Air operator certificate (AOC) and operations specifications for commercial flights
• Noise certificate
• Crew licences and medical certificates; crew and passenger lists with passport details
• Schedule with ETD and ETA in UTC, routing, aircraft type, MTOW and call sign
• Purpose of flight, plus the charter agreement or cargo manifest where relevant
• Ground handling confirmation at the destination

05Lead times and urgent landing permits

Lead times range from a few hours to several weeks. Some authorities process permits around the clock; others only during working hours, so weekends and public holidays add time. Charter, cargo and fifth-freedom requests usually take longer than private flights or technical stops.

For urgent or short-notice landing permits, our OCC files the moment we have the documents and works directly with the authority's duty office where one exists. We tell you at the start how long a permit is realistically likely to take, so you can plan around it, including whether a different airport or a technical stop elsewhere would be faster.

For guidance on specific countries, see our country permit guides, starting with Tunisia.