NCO.GEN.102(c): the equal share of direct costs

NCO.GEN.102(c) caps each passenger's contribution at the total direct costs divided equally by the number of people on board, including you. With four on board, nobody can pay you more than a quarter of the direct costs, and you pay at least a quarter yourself; you may pay more, and passengers may pay less.

The text

NCO.GEN.102(c):

(c) The contribution referred to in Article 6(4a)(a) is an amount not more than the total direct costs divided equally by the number of persons carried (including the pilot).

Article 2(12) of Regulation 965/2012 defines what goes into the total:

(12) ‘direct costs’ means the costs only directly incurred for a flight and include only: (a) fuel; (b) oil; (c) airfield charges; and (d) aircraft rental fees at current market rate

GM1 NCO.GEN.102(c), the CAA's guidance material in force since 1 October 2025:

CONTRIBUTION

(a) Pilots may pay more than the proportional costs.

MARKET RATE

(b) ‘Direct costs’ are defined in Article 2 of UK Regulation (EU) No. 965/2012 as including ‘aircraft rental fees at current market rate’. ‘Market rate’ in this context means the average rental price of the same type of aircraft in the same geographic area on the particular date of the flight.

JOINT OWNERS

(c) In the case of a jointly owned aircraft, the CAA considers the hourly rate, normally payable by a joint owner, for use of their aircraft to be a 'direct cost'. It may be no more than the average market rental price.

ANO 2016 art. 13(2)(c), for non-Part-21 aircraft:

(c) the contribution referred to in paragraph (1)(a) is an amount not more than the total direct costs divided equally by the number of persons carried (including the pilot);

The only difference is the cross-reference: the ANO points to its own art. 13(1)(a). ANO Schedule 1 defines direct costs in the same four items.

What it means in practice

The law caps what each passenger pays. CAP 1590 (guidance), para 27, puts the same rule from your side: "The contribution towards the direct costs of the flight by the pilot must not be less than the total direct cost divided equally by the number of people on board."

Worked example. You hire a PA-28 for 1.5 hours. The club charges £230 an hour, but comparable aircraft nearby hire for an average of £200 an hour, so only £200 an hour counts: £300. Landing fees add £30, so total direct costs are £330. With you and two passengers on board, each passenger can pay at most £110. You pay at least £110, plus the extra £45 of hire above the market rate, because that isn't a direct cost.

If someone drops out, divide by the number actually carried. If the flight doesn't happen, the CAA cost sharing web page says "no remuneration (money or exchange of gifts) should be exchanged between the pilot and passengers."

The cost-sharing calculator works these figures out, and who pays what has more scenarios.

Grey areas

• Uneven splits. The rules don't directly say whether one passenger may pay more than an equal share if another pays less. Point (c) caps "the contribution" at the equal share, so the cautious approach is to cap every passenger individually.
• Estimates and actual costs. The sources don't say what to do if you collect shares based on an estimate and the actual costs come in lower. The cautious approach is to base shares on the actual costs and refund any excess.
• Evidence of market rate. GM1 says "average rental price" but not how to establish it. Keeping a note of a few comparable local hire rates is a sensible precaution.
• Sole owners. Only joint owners are addressed. The cautious approach is for a sole owner to share fuel, oil and airfield charges only; see what counts as a direct cost.

How to comply

• Total only the four direct costs, with rental capped at the market rate.
• Divide by everyone on board, including yourself.
• Charge no passenger more than that equal share.
• Pay at least an equal share yourself, plus every cost covered by point (b).
• Refund passengers if the flight is cancelled.