Is Your Airline Covered by CORSIA? A Five-Test Self-Check

Operators often ask us a simple question: does CORSIA apply to us? The honest answer is that there are two questions hiding inside it. One is whether you must report your emissions. The other is whether you must offset them. You can be caught by the first and not the second.

Below is the self-check we run with new clients. Work through each test in order, keep a note of your evidence, and you will have a defensible position to take to your national authority.

Test 1: international flights

CORSIA is about international aviation only. A flight that departs from one country and lands in another counts. A flight that starts and ends inside the same country does not, however long it is.

So an Indian operator flying Delhi to Chennai is outside the scheme for that sector, while the same aircraft flying Chennai to Colombo is inside it.

If you fly only domestic routes, you can stop here. CORSIA does not apply to you.

Test 2: aeroplanes over 5,700 kg

Only flights by aeroplanes with a maximum take-off mass (MTOM, the certified upper weight limit for take-off) above 5,700 kg are counted. Smaller aircraft, such as many light piston types and some small turboprops, sit outside.

Check the certified figure for each type in your fleet, not the typical operating weight. If every aircraft you use for international work is at or below the limit, CORSIA does not reach you.

Test 3: more than 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ a year

Add up the CO₂ from all your qualifying international flights in a year (those that passed tests 1 and 2). If the total is above 10,000 tonnes, you are inside the reporting duty.

A rough way to test this: CO₂ is about 3.16 times the mass of Jet-A or Jet-A1 burned. So 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ corresponds to roughly 3,165 tonnes of jet fuel a year on international sectors. Our calculator will do the conversion for you from your fuel figures.

If you are over the threshold, you must monitor, report and have your emissions verified every year. That is true wherever you fly.

Test 4: the States at each end of the route

This is the test that decides offsetting. A route only creates an offsetting duty when both the departure State and the arrival State are taking part in CORSIA for that year.

Participation is not fixed. Some States joined voluntarily from the start; others come in later, and the list ICAO publishes changes from year to year. Some States are also excused from offsetting under the scheme's rules unless they choose to take part. So build a simple table of your international city pairs and mark each one as "both participating" or "not both" against the current official list on ICAO's CORSIA pages.

Only emissions on "both participating" routes feed your offsetting requirement. Emissions on the other routes are still reported, but not offset.

Test 5: the current phase

CORSIA runs in stages:

In practice, the phase changes which routes count under test 4. As the second phase begins, more of your city pairs are likely to move into the "both participating" column, so a route that costs nothing today may carry an offsetting duty later. It is worth re-running this check each year.

Reading your result

A few practical notes

• Keep the workings. Save your fleet MTOM list, your fuel totals and your city-pair table. If the authority asks why you concluded what you did, this is your answer.
• Growth changes the answer. A new international route or a larger aircraft type can push you over the line mid-way through a year. Review the check whenever the network changes.
• The authority decides. Your self-check is a starting point. In India the national authority is the DGCA, and its view on your status is the one that counts.

If the check puts you inside the scheme, the next pages to read are CORSIA explained for management and the compliance calendar.

Not sure where you land on one of the tests? Send us your fleet and route list through the contact page and we will work through it with you.