Steven Bentley CEO of Sofema (www.sassofia.com) takes a look at forthcoming changes related to the provision of European Aviation Ground Handling driven by to European Council Regulation 2018/1139 (Basic Regulation)
The Current Status
There are currently no regulations applicable to the Role of Ground Handling other than the obligation which is placed on the operators to manage any subcontract service provider
The existing requirement in Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 on air operations concerning contracted services (ORO.GEN.205) continues to apply. This means that the management system and the compliance monitoring of an air operator should incorporate the activities of the Ground Handling Service Provider) GHSP.
EASA is introducing a Regulatory Framework which will become applicable at some “unspecified” point in the future. (EASA intends to use as a model the existing rules in the Air Operations Regulation (EU 965/2012) and its AMC and GM, which enable the use of industry standards.)
As a result of the regulatory “GAP” a number of Industry initiatives were developed including:
- IATA Airport Handling Manual (AHM)
- IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO)
- The International Standard for Business Aircraft Handlers (IS-BAH)
What are we likely to see?
With the EASA Ground handling roadmap and the future regulation, the intention is to ensure that the procedures will be commonly agreed by the air operator and the Ground Handling Service Provider (GHSP) from an equal position and will address the safety risk in the most effective way. This should reduce the operational risk in the ground services.
Reference Material from Basic Regulation
Article 1 Legislative Acts
(8) Member States should be allowed to exempt from this Regulation aerodromes with low volumes of traffic, provided that the aerodromes concerned meet the minimum common safety objectives laid down in the relevant essential requirements set out in this Regulation.
When a Member State grants such exemptions, those exemptions should also apply to the equipment used at the aerodrome concerned and to the providers of ground handling services and apron management services (‘AMS’) operating at the exempted aerodromes.
Exemptions granted by the Member States to aerodromes before the entry into force of this Regulation should remain valid, and information about those exemptions should be made available to the public.
(19) Essential requirements should also be laid down for the safe provision of ground handling services and AMS.
Article 2 Scope
1.This Regulation shall apply to:
(d) the design, production, maintenance and operation of safety-related aerodrome equipment used or intended for use at the aerodromes referred to in point (e) and the provision of ground handling services and AMS at those aerodromes;
(e) the design, maintenance and operation of aerodromes, including the safety-related equipment used at those aerodromes, located in the territory to which the Treaties apply, which: (i) are open to public use; (ii) serve commercial air transport; and (iii) have a paved instrument runway of 800 metres or more, or exclusively serve helicopters using instrument approach or departure procedures;
7. Member States may decide to exempt from this Regulation the design, maintenance and operation of an aerodrome, and the safety-related equipment used at that aerodrome, where that aerodrome handles no more than 10 000 commercial air transport passengers per year and no more than 850 movements related to cargo operations per year, and provided that the Member States concerned to ensure that such exemption does not endanger compliance with the essential requirements referred to in Article 33. From the date specified in that exemption decision, the design, maintenance and operation of the aerodrome concerned and the safety-related equipment and ground handling services and AMS at that aerodrome shall no longer be regulated by this Regulation and by the delegated and implementing acts adopted on the basis thereof.
(23) ‘ground handling service’ means any service provided at aerodromes comprising safety-related activities in the areas of ground supervision, flight dispatch and load control, passenger handling, baggage handling, freight and mail handling, apron handling of aircraft, aircraft services, fuel and oil handling, and loading of catering; including the case where aircraft operators provide those ground handling services to themselves (self-handling);
SECTION IV Aerodromes
Article 33 Essential requirements Aerodromes, safety-related aerodrome equipment, the operation of aerodromes and the provision of ground handling services and AMS at aerodromes referred to in point (e) of Article 2(1) shall comply with the essential requirements set out in Annex VII and, if applicable, Annex VIII.
Article 37 Organisations
1.Organisations responsible for the operation of aerodromes shall be subject to certification and shall be issued with a certificate. That certificate shall be issued upon application when the applicant has demonstrated that it complies with the delegated acts referred to in Article 39 adopted to ensure compliance with the essential requirements referred to in Article 33. The certificate shall specify the privileges granted to the certified organisation and the scope of the certificate.
2.Organisations responsible for the provision of ground handling services and AMS at aerodromes subject to this Regulation shall declare their capability, and the availability to them of the means, to discharge the responsibilities associated with the services provided in compliance with the essential requirements referred to in Article 33.
Article 39 Delegated powers
1.For the operation of aerodromes and the provision of ground handling services and AMS at aerodromes, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 128 laying down detailed rules with regard to:
(a) the specific conditions for the operation of aerodromes in compliance with the essential requirements referred to in Article 33; 22.8.2018 L 212/34 Official Journal of the European Union EN
(b) the conditions for issuing, maintaining, amending, limiting, suspending or revoking the certificates referred to in Article 37(1); (c) the privileges and responsibilities of the holders of the certificates referred to in Article
37(1); (d) the conditions and procedures for the declaration by organisations providing ground handling services and by organisations providing AMS in accordance with Article 37(2), including recognition, without further verification, by the operators, of those declarations; (e) the privileges and responsibilities of the organisations providing ground handling services and by organisations providing AMS which have made declarations in accordance with Article 37(2). 2.As regards aerodromes, safety-related aerodrome equipment, the operation of aerodromes, and ground handling services and AMS the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 128, to amend Annex VII and, if applicable, Annex VIII, where necessary for reasons of technical, operational or scientific developments or safety evidence related to the aerodromes, in order and to the extent required to achieve the objectives set out in Article 1.
JOINT CERTIFICATION, OVERSIGHT AND ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM Article 62 Certification, oversight and enforcement
1.The Commission, the Agency and the Member States shall cooperate within a single European aviation safety system to ensure compliance with this Regulation and with the delegated and implementing acts adopted on the basis thereof.
2.To ensure compliance with this Regulation and with the delegated and implementing acts adopted on the basis thereof, the Agency and the national competent authorities shall:
(d) take all necessary enforcement measures, including amending, limiting, suspending or revoking certificates issued by them, grounding of aircraft and imposing penalties, in order to terminate identified infringements;
3.The Member States shall ensure that their national competent authorities are independent when taking technical decisions on certification, oversight and enforcement and exercise their tasks impartially, and transparently and are organised, staffed and managed accordingly. The Member States shall also ensure that their national competent authorities have the necessary resources and capabilities to carry out the tasks assigned to them under this Regulation in an efficient and timely manner.
4.The responsibilities for the tasks related to certification, oversight and enforcement referred to in paragraph 2 shall be determined in accordance with this paragraph.
ANNEX VII Essential requirements for aerodromes
2. OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT
2.1. Responsibilities of the aerodrome operator. The aerodrome operator is responsible for the operation of the aerodrome. The responsibilities of the aerodrome operator are as follows:
(f) the aerodrome operator shall establish arrangements with other relevant organisations to ensure continuing compliance with the essential requirements for aerodromes set out in this Annex. Those organisations include, but are not limited to, aircraft operators, ANS providers, ground handling service providers, AMS providers and other organisations whose activities or products may have an effect on aircraft safety;
4. GROUND HANDLING SERVICES
4.1. Responsibilities of the ground handling services provider
The provider of ground handling service is responsible for the safe operation of its activities at the aerodrome. The responsibilities of the provider are as follows:
(a) the provider shall have all the means necessary to ensure the safe provision of service at the aerodrome. Those means shall include, but are not limited to, facilities, personnel, equipment and material;
(b) the provider shall comply with the procedures contained in the aerodrome manual, including those in relation to movements of its vehicles, equipment and personnel and the risk related to aerodrome operations in winter, at night and in adverse weather conditions;
(c) the provider shall provide the ground handling services in accordance with the procedures and instructions of the aircraft operator it serves;
(d) the provider shall ensure that manuals for the operation and maintenance of ground handling equipment are available, applied in practice and cover operation, maintenance and repair instructions, servicing information, troubleshooting and inspection procedures;
(e) the provider shall use only adequately trained and qualified personnel and shall ensure the implementation and maintenance of training and checking programmes to ensure the continuing competence of all relevant personnel;
(f)the provider shall ensure that its personnel is physically and mentally fit to execute their functions satisfactorily, taking into account the type of activity and in particular its potential safety and safety-related security impact.
4.2. Management systems
4.2.1. As appropriate for the type of activity undertaken and the size of the organisation, the provider shall implement and maintain a management system to ensure compliance with the essential requirements set out in this Annex, manage safety risks and to aim for continuous improvement of this system. Such system shall be coordinated with the management system of the aerodrome operator.
4.2.2. The provider shall establish an occurrence reporting system as part of the management system under point 4.2.1 in order to contribute to the aim of continuous improvement of safety. Without prejudice to other reporting obligations, the provider shall transmit all occurrences to the reporting system of the aerodrome operator, the aircraft operator and, if relevant, to that of the air traffic service provider. The occurrence reporting system shall be compliant with the applicable Union law.
4.2.3. The provider shall develop a ground handling service manual and operate in accordance with that manual. Such manual shall contain all necessary instructions, information and procedures for the service, the management system and for service personnel to perform their duties.
5. APRON MANAGEMENT SERVICES (AMS)
5.1. The AMS provider shall provide its services in accordance with the operating procedures included in the aerodrome manual.
5.2. As appropriate for the type of activity undertaken and the size of the organisation, the AMS provider shall implement and maintain a management system, including safety management, to ensure compliance with the essential requirements set out in this Annex.
5.3. The AMS provider shall establish formal arrangements with the aerodrome operator and the air traffic services provider describing the scope of the services to be provided.
5.4. The AMS provider shall establish an occurrence reporting system as part of the management system under point 5.2 in order to contribute to the aim of continuous improvement of safety. Without prejudice to other reporting obligations, the provider shall transmit all occurrences to the reporting system of the aerodrome operator, and, if relevant, to that of the air traffic services provider.
5.5. The AMS provider shall participate in the safety programmes established by the aerodrome operator.
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