Private means no payment, public offer, service contract, or provider-arranged availability on the facts described.
Why this is a useful start
Why this helps
Tandem is not solo: Article 2, Article 5, Article 7, and Article 14 of the paraglider rulebook remain relevant.
A donation, fee, repeated public arrangement, or organized participant flow can change the analysis.
The exact scenario
Imagine a licensed tandem pilot and a friend who is visiting Montenegro. They plan a route in the air, nobody sells a seat, nobody publishes availability, there is no service contract, and the flight is a private sporting activity between them.
That is not automatically a tourism service merely because the passenger is a tourist or the flight travels from one place toward another.
The aviation reading
The direct VASP sentence is in Article 6 of the paraglider rulebook: a paraglider pilot does not need approval for outside-aerodrome take-off and landing with a paraglider.
The same rulebook distinguishes a tandem pilot in Article 2, requires the relevant medical status in Article 5, and sets passenger-information and signed-statement duties in Article 7. Article 14 describes the requirements for the T authorization. The private nature of the flight changes the commercial analysis; it does not erase the tandem qualification and safety framework.
What “non-commercial” must mean here
The label is credible only if the facts support it. Relevant indicators include:
- no seat price, flight fee, donation-for-flight, or other compensation
- no public advertising or open invitation for passenger flights
- no service contract or promise of availability
- no operator or provider assigning a pilot and route as an offering
- no recurrent schedule designed to supply passenger flights
A shared friendship, private planning, or a route from A to B is not enough by itself. Conversely, calling a payment a “gift” does not settle the question by itself.
The ordinary limits still apply
The pilot still needs the correct tandem authorization, documents, equipment, passenger briefing, and current weather judgment. The flight must fit current airspace rules and restrictions, and the pilot must have the relevant right to use the launch and landing land. See the common VASP framework for why those are separate checks.
Source and review status
This is a controlled draft, last source review 30 August 2026. It does not decide a disputed payment or organization structure. If a third party, NVO, tourism provider, or recurring group arrangement enters the facts, use the commercial or NVO case and seek current authority review where necessary.
Quick answers
Quick answers
Does a tourist passenger make the flight commercial?
No. Travel status alone does not decide the classification. Payment, public offer, contract, organization, and the actual benefit or control structure matter.
Does a private tandem need the T authorization?
The paraglider rulebook defines tandem pilot status and requires the relevant T authorization. A private context does not turn a solo pilot into a tandem pilot.
What if the friend pays for fuel or contributes money?
The facts need a closer review. A contribution may or may not be compensation, but it should not be assumed irrelevant without examining its purpose, amount, publicity, and arrangement.
Continue in this guide