General aviation in Europe

General aviation (GA) has been defined as a civil aircraft operation other than a commercial air transport flight operating to a schedule. Although the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) excludes any form of remunerated aviation from its definition, some commercial operations are often included within the scope of General Aviation (GA). General aviation refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial.

In 2003 the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) was established as the central EU regulator, taking over responsibility for legislating airworthiness and environmental regulation from the national authorities.

General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights. The sector operates business jets, rotorcraft, piston and jet-engined fixed-wing aircraft, gliders of all descriptions, and lighter than air craft. Other commercial GA activities are aerial work, such as surveying and air ambulances, and flight training.

The International Civil Aviation Organization defines general aviation as "an aircraft operation other than a commercial air transport operation or an aerial work operation." It defines commercial air transport (CAT) as "an aircraft operation involving the transport of passengers, cargo or mail for remuneration or hire", and aerial work as "an aircraft operation in which an aircraft is used for specialized services such as agriculture, construction, photography, surveying, observation and patrol, search and rescue, aerial advertisement, etc."

...
Wikipedia