SAFETY BULLETIN
20SAB05
06 April 2020

IFALPA Guidance to Member Associations
on ICAO State Letter 11/55-20/50 –Operational Measures to ensure safe
operations during the COVID-19 pandemic
On April 3, 2020 ICAO published State Letter 11/55-20/50 – Operational Measures toensure safe operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the challenges faced byStates due to the pandemic, flight crew and operators are facing difficulties complying
with the validity period of their licenses and medical certificates in adherence with ICAO
SARPs.
This State Letter was in response to measures that were being taken by States toaddress these challenges. The information provided in this Safety Bulletin is meant as
guidance to help our members determine whether they are qualified to operateinternationally for their operator.
BACKGROUNDICAO SARPs Basic Information
Under the Chicago Convention, States that comply with the minimum Standards andRecommended Practices (SARPs) as established in the Chicago Convention and its 19Annexes, are automatically recognized by all other contracting States allowing for
operations within the 193 Member States. If a State does not follow one of the SARPs, it
is required to file a difference to the SARP with ICAO and that information is madeavailable to all other States.
The ICAO SARPs do not limit a State from having different standards (higher or lower)
for its own operators within its sovereign airspace but do provide for a harmonizedminimum global standard to operate outside of their State. It is the responsibility of aState and its Operators to ensure that appropriate recognition of licenses and medical
certificates are ensured before conducting any international operations - that means
checking all States of overflight and the State of destination to ensure recognition ofcertificates/licenses that are not in compliance with ICAO SARPs.

ICAO has established a COVID-19 Contingency Related Differences (CCRD) website tofacilitate the temporary filing of differences by States to certain SARPs in Annex 1(Licensing) and Annex 6 (Operations) because they realize that States may have noalternative to keep their operations going during the pandemic crisis.
Another critical part of this website is for States to indicate whether they will accept
differences from other States that have implemented temporary measures. This isoutlined in the State Letter and on the website and covers the period of now throughMarch 31, 2021. It is important to note that ICAO can only post information that has
been sent to it through official State channels and therefore is still lacking informationfrom most States.
This Official information will be found by utilizing the CLICK HERE links on the CCRD at
the bottom of the page (see below):here:

An Example of how to determine if your medical certificate will be accepted isRESOURCES- ICAO State Letter 11/55-20/50 – Operational Measures to ensure safe operations
during the COVID-19 pandemic – https://www.icao.int/safety/COVID19OPS/Documents/050e.pdf.
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---ICAO Website addressing operational concerns during the COVID-19 crisis https://www.icao.int/safety/COVID-19OPS/Pages/default.aspx - please note, thisis still a work in progress. From here you can use the tab titled “States andOrganization Links” to see what a given State has posted regarding operational
contingency measures such as extensions. Be aware that not many States havepublished information for foreign operators in their sites.
ICAO Website explaining the COVID-19 Contingency Related Differences (CCRD)- https://www.icao.int/safety/COVID-19OPS/Pages/ccrd.aspx. This part of theWebsite will be the repository for all Temporary State Differences however, it iscurrently being populated with this information , therefor we suggest the step
above in “States and Organization Links” until this section is brought up to date.
If you have specific questions, please feel free to contact us at ifalpa@ifalpa.org
and we will get back to you as soon as we are able.
As the CCRD is further developed, IFALPA will update this SAB accordingly.

GUIDANCE FOR FLIGHT CREWS
What should you, as a Flight Crewmember, do during this crisis if you are approaching anormal date where you should renew your Medical Certificate or may be due for
Recurrent Training to maintain the validity of your license?
- Determine what measures your State/Operator has established for Medical
Certification and Licensing Validity during the crisis and comply. Check with youroperator and/or https://www.icao.int/safety/COVID-19OPS/Pages/default.aspx.
- It would be advisable to have a copy of your State/Operator’s temporary
measures with you when conducting international operations in the event you
need to show them to another authority.
- Ensure that you and/or your Operator has checked the CCRD site to ensure that
the States of overflight and destination will accept your medical certificate andlicense validity.
- Bring along a copy of this SAB so that you have the appropriate ICAO references
and website available in case you need to look something up.
- Maintain the highest level of safety and professionalism by ensuring you arecurrent for the operation. If in doubt, follow the channels available to you
through your association to mitigate the risks.

©2020 The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations. This publication is provided for information purposes only, in allcases pilots should follow their company’s guidance and procedures. In the interest of flight safety, reproduction of this publication inwhole or in part is encouraged. It may not be offered for sale or used commercially. All reprints must credit IFALPA.

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