Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the safety of third countries aircraft using community airports
Date: 2002-01-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: International Civil Aviation Organisation, air safety, aircraft, carriage of passengers, dissemination of information, information, public safety, roadworthiness tests, safety standard, transport regulations

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Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the safety of third
countries aircraft using community airports

(2002/C 103 E/26)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(2002) 8 final — 2002/0014(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission on 14 January 2002)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 80(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty,

Whereas:

(1) The Resolution adopted by the European Parliament on
15 February 1996 (1) points
the
Community to take a more active stance and develop a
strategy to improve the safety of its citizens traveling by
air or living near airports.

to the need for

(2) The Commission has issued a Communication to the
Council and the European Parliament entitled Defining a
Community Aviation Safety Improvement Strategy (2).

(3) This Communication clearly identifies that safety may be
effectively enhanced by ensuring that aircraft comply fully
with the international safety standards contained in the
to the Convention on International Civil
Annexes
Aviation, signed in Chicago on 7 December 1944.

(4) Experience has shown that some third countries do not
safety
to improve

always
standards; and that

and enforce
therefore,

international

implement

in order

(1) Resolution B4-0150/96 (OJ C 65, 4.3.1996, p. 172).
(2) Communication from the Commission to the Council and the
European Parliament, Report by the High Level Group established
by the Council Decision of 11th March 1996 addressed to the
European Parliament and to the Council, Defining a Community
Aviation Safety
Improvement Strategy, SEC(96) 1083 final,
12.6.1996.

transport safety in the Community, it is necessary for the
monitoring of compliance with international standards to
be ensured by the Community Member States themselves
at their airports.

(5) The rules and procedures for ramp inspections, including
should be harmonized to ensure
aircraft grounding,
the
consistent effectiveness in all airports throughout
Community, which in turn would also reduce
the
selective use of certain airports of destination by third
countries aircraft trying to avoid proper control.

(6) A harmonized approach to the effective enforcement of
international safety standards by the Member States will
the
avoid distortions of competition and benefit of
strength of a common stance in the relations with third
countries.

(7) Information gathered in each Member State should be
made available to all the other Member States and the
Commission in order to ensure the most efficient moni-
toring of the compliance of third countries aircraft with
international safety standards.

(8) For the above mentioned reasons there is a need for
establishing, at Community level, a procedure for the
foreign aircraft and related co-operation
assessment of
mechanisms between Member States
and
analyze information and draw conclusions.

to share

(9) Aircraft landing in the Community at any given time shall
undergo an inspection when there is suspicion that they
do not comply with international safety standards

(10) The sensitive nature of safety related information is such
that
the only way to ensure the gathering of such
information is by ensuring its proper usage and the confi-
dentiality of its sources without prejudicing the right of
the citizens of the Union to be informed of the efforts
made to ensure their safety and of the most serious cases
affecting air safety.

(11) Aircraft on which corrective action is required must,
where the identified deficiencies are clearly hazardous to
safety, be grounded until such time when non-compliance
with international safety standards has been rectified.

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(12) The facilities in the airport of inspection may be such that
the competent authority will be obliged to authorize the
aircraft to proceed to an appropriate airport, provided
that conditions for a safe transfer are complied with.

limit the Member States'
This Directive shall not, however,
right, with due regard to Community law,
to carry out
inspection of, ground, ban, or impose conditions on, any
aircraft landing at its airports.

(13) It is necessary for the Commission to draft measures in
relation to specific cases of safety hazards as well as for
the implementation of requirements of Articles 4, 5 and
6, a Committee shall be created and a procedure estab-
lished for close co-operation between the Member States
and the Commission within that Committee.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purpose of this Directive:

(14) Since the measures necessary for the implementation of
this Directive are measures of general scope within the
meaning of Article 2 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of
28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise
of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (1),
regulatory
they should be adopted by use of
procedure provided for in Article 5 of that Decision.

the

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Objective

The purpose of this Directive shall be to contribute to the
improvement of air safety by ensuring that:

‘grounding’ means the formal prohibition of an aircraft to leave
an airport, and the taking of such steps as are necessary to
detain it;

safety standards’ means

‘international
the safety standards
contained in the Chicago Convention and its Annexes as in
force at the time of the inspection;

‘ramp inspection’ means the examination of
aircraft in accordance with Annex II;

third-country

‘third-country aircraft’ means an aircraft which is not used or
operated under the control of a competent authority of a
Member State.

Article 4

Collection of information

— information is collected and disseminated so that sufficient
evidence can be established to decide on measures required
to ensure the safety of the travelling public as well as of
people on the ground;

Member States shall put in place a mechanism to collect any
information deemed useful for the fulfilment of the objective
stated in Article 1, including:

— third-country

aircraft,

their operation and crew are
inspected whenever there is reasonable suspicion that inter-
national safety standards are not being met and such
is necessary to ensure
this
aircraft are grounded if
immediate safety;

(a)

important safety information accessible, especially, through:

— pilots reports,

— maintenance organization reports,

— appropriate measures for rectification of identified short-

— incidents reports,

comings are decided and implemented.

Article 2

Scope

— complaints;

— other organizations,

independent from the competent

authorities of the Member States,

This Directive shall apply to third-country aircraft landing at
airports located in the Member States.

State aircraft, as defined in the Convention on International
Civil Aviation signed in Chicago on 7 December 1944, (here-
inafter referred to as ‘the Chicago Convention’), and aircraft of
a maximum take off weight of less than 5 700 kg not engaged
in commercial air transport shall be excluded from the scope of
this Directive.

(b) information on action taken subsequent

to a ramp

inspection, such as:

— aircraft grounded,

— aircraft or operator banned from the country,

— corrective action required,

(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

— contacts with operator's competent authority;

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(c)

follow-up information concerning the operator, such as:

4. When executing a ramp inspection under this Directive,
the competent authority shall make all possible efforts to avoid
an unreasonable delay of the aircraft inspected.

— corrective action implemented,

— recurrence of discrepancy.

Article 6

Exchange of information

This information shall be kept, using a standard report form
containing the items described, in the form set out in Annex I.

The competent authorities of the Member States shall

1.
participate in a mutual exchange of information.

Article 5

Ramp inspection

to ensure that

third-country aircraft

Each Member State shall put in place the appropriate
1.
suspected of
means
non-compliance with international safety standards landing at
any of its airports open to international air traffic shall be
subject to ramp inspections. In implementing such procedures,
particular attention shall be given by the competent authority
to aircraft:

— where information has been received indicating poor main-

tenance condition or obvious damage or defects;

— which have been reported as performing abnormal
since entering the airspace of a Member

manoeuvres
State such as to give rise to serious safety concerns;

— in respect of which a previous ramp inspection has revealed
deficiencies which give rise to serious concern that the
aircraft does not comply with international standards and
where the Member State is concerned that the defects may
not have been corrected;

— there is evidence that

the
registration may not be exercising proper

the competent authorities of

country of
safety oversight; or

— where information collected under Article 4 gives cause for
concern about
the operator or where a previous ramp
inspection of an aircraft used by the same operator has
revealed deficiencies.

2. Member States
ramp
inspections and other surveillance measures as decided within
the framework of Article 9(3) will be implemented.

that appropriate

ensure

shall

All standard reports referred to in Article 4 and the ramp
2.
inspection reports referred to in Article 5(3) shall be made
available without delay to the competent authorities of the
Member States and the Commission, at their request.

3. Whenever a standard report shows the existence of a
potential safety threat, or a ramp inspection report shows
that an aircraft does not comply with international safety
standards and may pose a potential safety threat, the report
will be communicated without delay to each competent
authority of the Member States and the Commission.

Article 7

Protection and dissemination of information

The information exchanged in accordance with Article 6
1.
shall be used solely for the purpose of this Directive and its
access shall be limited to the participating competent auth-
orities and the Commission.

Each Member State shall publish half yearly information

2.
available to the public concerning:

— the number of aircraft grounded during the previous six
month period, including in particular the type of aircraft,
the name and country of the operator, the State of regis-
tration, the reason for grounding and the airport and date
of grounding, as well as any corrective measures notified as
a consequence of the grounding,

— type of aircraft, State of registration and name and country
of the operators whose aircraft has been detained more
than once during the past 24 months,
the reason for
grounding and the airport and date on which the
grounding was
any corrective
imposed,
measures notified as a result of the grounding,

as well

as

3.
The ramp inspection shall be performed according to the
procedure described in Annex II and using a ramp inspection
report form containing at least the items described in the form
appended to Annex II. On completion of the ramp inspection,
the commander of
the
contents of the ramp inspection report, and if defects have
been found, the report shall be sent to the operator of the
aircraft and to the competent authority concerned.

the aircraft shall be informed of

— the list of airports open to international traffic, the number
of
ramp inspections carried out and the number of
movements of third country aircraft at each airport on
the list,

— the number of

communicated in
ramp inspections
accordance with the provisions of Article 6, paragraph 3.

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The Commission may, in accordance with the procedure
3.
laid down in Article 11(2), decide on the
release of
supplementary information to parties likely to benefit from it
with regard to improving air safety.

— create or support the appropriate bodies for managing or
the collection and

operating the tools necessary for
exchange of information.

Confidentiality of

4.
in
particular by the crew of aircraft subjected to ramp inspections,
will be ensured by de-identifying extensively the source of such
information.

information given voluntarily,

Article 8

Grounding of aircraft

non-compliance with
clearly hazardous

safety
1. Where
standards
competent
is
authority performing the ramp inspection shall ground the
aircraft until the hazard is removed.

international
the

to safety,

2.
In the event that an aircraft is grounded, the competent
authority of the Member State where the inspection took place
the
immediately inform the competent authorities of
shall
operator concerned and of
the
the state of registration of
aircraft.

the

cargo,

fare-paying passengers or

If the hazard is such that the aircraft may be safely flown
3.
competent
without
the Member State where the inspection took
authority of
in co-ordination with the State responsible for
place shall,
the
the operation of
necessary conditions under which the aircraft
could be
allowed to fly safely, without fare-paying passengers or cargo,
to an airport at which the deficiencies could be corrected, and
inform the States which will be overflown by such aircraft.

concerned, prescribe

aircraft

the

Article 9

Safety improvement and implementation measures

1. Member States shall report to the other Member States
and to the Commission on the operational measures taken and
the resources allocated to implementing the requirements of
Articles 4, 5 and 6.

the

On the basis of

information collected under
2.
paragraph 1, the Commission may,
in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 11(2), take any appropriate
measures to facilitate the implementation of Articles 4, 5 and
6 such as:

3.
On the basis of the information received under Articles 4,
5 and 6, and in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 11(2), a decision may be taken on appropriate ramp
inspection and other surveillance measures, in particular of a
specific operator or of operators of a specific third country
that
pending the adoption by the competent authority of
third country of
for corrective
measures,

satisfactory arrangements

4.
The Commission may take any appropriate measures to
co-operate with and assist third countries to improve their
aviation safety oversight capabilities.

Article 10

Imposition of a ban or conditions on operation

If a Member State decides to ban or impose conditions on the
operation of a specific operator or operators of a specific third
country from its airports pending the adoption by the
satisfactory
competent authority of
arrangements for corrective measures:

third country of

that

a) that Member State shall notify the Commission of

the

measures taken;

b) the Commission may, in consultation with the Committee
identify the Community-wide

laid down in Article 11(1),
implications of the perceived safety hazard;

c)

the Commission may, in accordance with the procedure laid
down in Article 11(2), take any measure deemed necessary
including the extension to the Community of the measures
notified under (a).

Article 11

Procedure for decisions

1.
The Commission shall be assisted by the committee
instituted by Article 12 of Council Regulation (EEC) No
3922/91 of 16 December 1991 on the harmonisation of
technical requirements and administrative procedures in the
field of civil aviation (1).

— establish the list of information to be collected;

— detail the content of, and procedures for, ramp inspections;

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, the regulatory
procedure laid down in Article 5 of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall apply,
in compliance with Article 7(3) and Article 8
thereof.

— define the format for the storage and dissemination of data;

(1) OJ L 373, 31.12.1991, p. 4.

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The period provided for in Article 5(6) of Decision

3.
1999/468/EC shall be three months.

Article 13

Report

4.
The Committee may furthermore be consulted by the
Commission on any other matter concerning the application
of
the
as
Community-wide implications of the perceived safety hazard
as provided for in Article 10.

this Directive

identification

such

the

of

Article 12

Implementation

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive two years after its entry into force at
the latest.
They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain
a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a
reference on the occasion of
their official publication.
Member States shall determine how such reference is to be
made.

Not later than . . (*), the Commission shall draw up a report
on its application, and in particular on Article 10, which, inter
alia, takes into account developments in the Community and in
international
report may be accompanied by
fora. The
proposals for a revision of this Directive.

Article 14

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

Article 15

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

(*) Two years after the entry into force of this Directive.

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ANNEX I

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ANNEX II

I. The ramp inspection should cover all or a selection of the following aspects, according to the time available.

1. Checking for presence and validity of the documents necessary for international flights such as: registration
certificate, log book, certificate of Airworthiness, crew licenses, radio license, list of passengers and freight.

2. Check that flight crew composition and qualification comply with the requirements of Annex 1 and Annex 6 to

the Chicago convention (ICAO annexes).

3. Check of operational documentation (flight data, operational flight plan, technical log), and of flight preparation

necessary to show that the flight is prepared according to ICAO annex 6.

4. Check for presence and status of items required for international navigation according to ICAO, annex 6.

— Air operator certificate

— Noise and Emission Certificate

— Operation manual (including MEL (1)) and flight manual.

— Safety equipment

— Security cabin equipment

— Equipment necessary for the specific flight including radio communication and radio navigation equipment

— Flight recorders.

5. Check that the condition of the aircraft and its equipment (including damages and repairs) ensures continuous

compliance with ICAO annex 8 standards.

II. A ramp inspection report must be established after the ramp inspection and must

include standard general
information described hereunder, and a list of items checked together with an indication of any deficiencies
found for each of these items, or of any specific remark is necessary.

(1) Minimum Equipment List.

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