The "Regulation on the Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Aviation Activities," which aims to regulate the procedures and principles regarding the monitoring, reporting, and verification of greenhouse gas emissions arising from national and international aviation activities, has been published in the Official Gazette dated 25.03.2022.

According to Article 2 of the Regulation, "Aircraft operators who produce more than 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually due to the use of aircraft with a certified maximum takeoff weight of over 5,700 kg on international flights" and "aircraft operators who produce more than 5,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually due to the use of aircraft with a certified maximum takeoff weight of over 5,700 kg on domestic flights" are considered subject to the obligations under this Regulation, while humanitarian, medical, and firefighting flights, as well as flights carried out by State aircraft, are excluded from its scope.

Article 6 of the Regulation addresses the "monitoring of emissions." According to the relevant provision:

• Aircraft operators are required to prepare an emission monitoring plan in accordance with the procedures and principles specified in the sub-regulations of this Regulation, monitor greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with this plan, and submit the emission monitoring plan to the Directorate General for approval within the timeframe specified in the Regulation.
• According to the article, a new entrant aircraft operator must start monitoring emissions if they exceed at least one of the carbon dioxide emission thresholds specified under this Regulation. The aircraft operator is required to prepare an emission monitoring plan and submit it to the Directorate General within three months from the moment one of the emission thresholds is exceeded.
• Similarly, an existing operator exceeding the carbon dioxide thresholds specified in the Regulation must start monitoring emissions, prepare an emission monitoring plan, and submit it to the Directorate General in the same way as a new entrant aircraft operator.

Article 7 of the Regulation deals with the "reporting of emissions." According to the relevant provision:

• The aircraft operator is required to report the greenhouse gas emissions monitored between 1 January and 31 December of the previous year to the Directorate General in accordance with the schedule specified in the Regulation. The Directorate General may extend this reporting period by up to one month if deemed necessary.

Article 8 of the Regulation concerns the "verification of emissions."

• According to the article, it is mandatory for aircraft operators to send the annual emission reports related to greenhouse gas emissions arising from national and international aviation activities to the Directorate General.
• These emission reports must be verified by a verification body accredited by a national accreditation body that has signed a mutual recognition agreement with the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) in the field of greenhouse gas emission verification. The verification report from the verification body must be submitted to the Directorate General within the specified timeframe.

Article 11 of the Regulation includes the provision: "Verification bodies wishing to provide verification services for international flights for aircraft operators holding an air carrier operating license from the Directorate General must be accredited by TÜRKAK or another national accreditation body that has signed a mutual recognition agreement with the International Accreditation Forum in the field of greenhouse gas emissions under CORSIA. The Directorate General will authorize such verification bodies after reviewing their compliance with the relevant sub-regulation and approving them, if deemed appropriate."

Article 16 of the Regulation stipulates that aircraft operators' compliance with the procedures and principles can be monitored by the Directorate General, either with or without prior notice. If any violations of the regulations are detected during the inspections, the Directorate General may request the operator to rectify the violations within 30 days.

Finally, failure to comply with this Regulation and its sub-regulations, or failure to rectify violations within the specified periods, will result in sanctions in accordance with Article 143 of the Civil Aviation Law No. 2920 and the "Regulation on Administrative Fines to be Imposed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation" published in the Official Gazette No. 28543. In cases where false and/or misleading information is provided to the Directorate General intentionally or negligently by aircraft operators or verification bodies, sanctions will be applied in accordance with Article 143 of the Civil Aviation Law No. 2920.

Regarding the entry into force of this Regulation:

• Articles 7 will enter into force for domestic flights on 1 May 2022;
• Articles 11 and 12 will enter into force on 1 January 2023;
• All other provisions, except for the aforementioned articles, will enter into force on the date of publication.