Regulation 2006/1899 - Amendment of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91 on the harmonisation of technical requirements and administrative procedures in the field of civil aviation - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 377/1

Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91 (3) provides for common safety standards listed in Annex II to that Regulation with respect, in particular, to the design, manufacture, operation and maintenance of aircraft, as well as persons and organisations involved in those tasks. Those harmonised safety standards apply to all aircraft operated by Community operators, whether such aircraft are registered in a Member State or in a third country.

Article 4(1) of that Regulation requires the adoption of common technical requirements and administrative procedures, on the basis of Article 80(2) of the Treaty, for the fields that are not listed in Annex II to that Regulation.

Article 9 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92 of 23 July 1992 on licensing of air carriers (4) provides that the granting and validity at any time of an operating licence shall be dependent upon the possession of a valid air operator's certificate specifying the activities covered by the operating licence and complying with the criteria to be established in a prospective regulation. It is now appropriate to establish such criteria.

The Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) have adopted a set of harmonised rules for commercial air transportation by aeroplane, called Joint Aviation Requirements for Commercial Air Transportation (Aeroplanes) (JAR-OPS 1), as amended. Those rules (Amendment 8 of 1 January 2005) provide for a minimum level of safety requirements and therefore constitute a good basis for Community legislation covering the operation of aeroplanes. Changes had to be made to JAR-OPS 1 in order to bring it into conformity with Community legislation and policies, account being taken of its numerous implications in the economic and social field. That new text cannot be introduced into Community law by simple reference to JAR-OPS 1 in Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91. A new Annex containing the common rules should therefore be added to that Regulation.

Air operators should be given sufficient flexibility to address unforeseen urgent operational circumstances, or operational needs of a limited duration, or to demonstrate that they can achieve an equivalent level of safety by means other than the application of the common rules set out in the Annex (hereinafter referred to as Annex III). Member States should therefore be empowered to grant exemptions or introduce variations to the common technical requirements and administrative procedures. Because such exemptions and variations could, in certain cases, undermine the common safety standards or create distortions on the market, their scope should be strictly limited and their grant should be subject to appropriate Community control. In that respect, the Commission should be empowered to take safeguard measures.

There exist well-identified cases where Member States should be permitted to adopt or maintain national provisions regarding flight and duty time limitations and rest requirements, provided that commonly established procedures are complied with and until...