Regulation 2014/139 - Requirements and administrative procedures related to aerodromes pursuant to Regulation 216/2008 - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 44/1

Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 aims at establishing and maintaining a high uniform level of civil aviation safety in Europe.

The implementation of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 requires the establishment of detailed Implementing Rules, in particular concerning the safety regulation of aerodromes, in order to maintain a high uniform level of civil aviation safety in the Union while pursuing the objective of an overall improvement in aerodrome safety.

It requires the Commission to adopt the necessary Implementing Rules for establishing the conditions for the design and safe operation of aerodromes referred to in Article 8a(5) before 31 December 2013.

In order to ensure a smooth transition and a high level of civil aviation safety in the Union, the Implementing Rules should reflect the state of the art and the best practices in the field of aerodromes; take into account the applicable International Civil Aviation Organization (hereinafter referred to as ‘ICAO’) Standards and Recommended Practices, thereby respecting ICAO’s respective classification throughout the system of rules; and worldwide aerodrome operation experience, and scientific and technical progress in the field of aerodromes; be proportionate to the size, traffic, category and complexity of the aerodrome and nature and volume of operations thereon; provide for the necessary flexibility for customised compliance; and cater for the cases of aerodrome infrastructure which has been developed, prior to the entry into force of this Regulation, in accordance with the different requirements contained in the national legislations of the Member States.

It is necessary to provide sufficient time for the aerodrome industry and Member States administrations to adapt to the new regulatory framework and to verify the continued validity of certificates issued before the entry into force of this Regulation.

With a view to ensuring uniformity in the application of common requirements, it is essential that common standards be applied by the Competent Authorities and, where applicable, the European Aviation Safety Agency (‘the Agency’) when assessing compliance with these requirements; the Agency should develop Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material to facilitate the necessary regulatory uniformity. The common requirements should cater for identical processes within the competent authorities across the different aviation domains. They should not prevent, however, the application of slightly different processes if and where necessary or beneficial, for example in the case of separate overseeing entities for aerodromes and air operations. The safety objective of these requirements should remain unaffected by the different ways of technical compliance.

With regard to obstacle management in the aerodrome surroundings as well as to other activities taking place outside the aerodrome’s boundary, each Member State may designate different authorities...