Report from the Commission — Safety of third-country aircraft using Community airports (Report on the application of Directive 2004/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2008-09-25
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, air safety, aircraft, airport, application of EU law, civil aviation, third country, transport safety

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25.9.2008

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION

Safety of third-country aircraft using Community airports (Report on the application of Directive
2004/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2008/C 244/03)

1. INTRODUCTION

EU Member State; although the Directive does in no way
prohibit EU Member States from inspecting aircraft from other
EU Member States.

Ever since its inception under the auspices of the European Civil
Aviation Conference (ECAC) in association with the Joint Avia-
tion Authorities (JAA) back in 1996, the SAFA (safety assess-
ment of foreign aircraft) Programme has increasingly proven to
be a vanguard in enhancing European, and indeed international,
aviation safety. This, albeit the obvious limitations inherent in
the Programme such as human and technical resources as well
as the restricted nature of the very ‘ramp inspection’ itself —
the cornerstone of the Programme.

fully
The European Community (EC) has from the outset
endorsed and supported the SAFA Programme, participating
actively through membership in the SAFA Steering Committee
and also through the provision of funding made available to the
JAA by the European Commission.

Within the framework of the Community's overall strategy to
establish and maintain a high uniform level of civil aviation
safety in Europe, on 21 April 2004 the Community adopted
Directive 2004/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council on the safety of third-country aircraft using Community
airports (1) — the so-called ‘SAFA Directive’.

the Community obligations of

Whilst
the Member States
deriving from this Directive could be to a large extent
discharged through their participation in the ECAC SAFA
Programme — the management of which had been delegated to
the JAA — the Programme was not based upon a European
legal binding basis but upon a commitment of the Directors
General of the participating ECAC Member States. The scope of
the inspections relating to ‘foreign’ aircraft implied those aircraft
which are not used or operated under the control of the compe-
tent authority of the State where the inspection takes place.

Article 13 of the SAFA Directive requires the Commission to
to the European Parliament and to the Council by
report
30 April 2008 on its application of this Directive. It specifies
further that the Commission's report should be accompanied, if
necessary, by proposals for revision of the Directive. The essen-
tial aim of this report is to indicate how well the objective of
the Directive have been achieved and how far the application of
the Directive has contributed towards enhancing aviation safety
in Europe.

In order to place this discussion in context, this report also
describes and assesses changes in the management and develop-
ment of the SAFA Programme since 2004 and aims to discern
regulatory framework has
to what extent
contributed to those changes. This quantitative and qualitative
work called for a comprehensive inventory of measures, already
taken or planned in the Commission's legislative Programme.

the Directive's

2. IMPLEMENTATION

Legal aspects

Directive 2004/36/EC gave EU Member States a window of two
years for the enactment of national measures aimed at trans-
posing its provisions. Whilst the deadline stipulated in Article 11
of the Directive was 30 April 2006 for the then EU-15, transi-
tional periods were established for the implementation of the
Directive by the ten new Member States which joined the Union
on 1 May 2004.

Compared to the ‘voluntary’ nature of their participation in the
ECAC SAFA Programme so far, Directive 2004/36/EC intro-
legal obligation upon European Union (EU)
duced a clear
Member States to inspect third-country aircraft landing at their
airports and to participate to the collection and exchange of
information on the ramp inspections carried out. In this case,
‘third-country aircraft’ implied an aircraft which is not used or
operated under control of a competent authority of an

(1) OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 76.

As shown in table 1 below, although a significant number of
Member States did not enact appropriate transposition measures
on time, there were no major problems for Member States in
implementing the provisions of
the Directive — with two
minor exceptions. This was largely due to the fact that the main
obligations contained in the Directive were already, to a large
extent, discharged through the participation in the ECAC SAFA
Programme.

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Table 1

Transposition by Member States

Member State

Transposition
deadline

Deadline type

Opening of
infraction
Procedures
for non-
communication

Current status

Austria

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

X

Case closed on 27.6.2007

Belgium

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

Bulgaria

1.1.2007

Ordinary deadline

Cyprus

30.4.2006

Transitional period

Czech Republic

30.4.2006

Transitional period

Denmark

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

Eire

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

Estonia

30.4.2006

Transitional period

Finland

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

France

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

Germany

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

Greece

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

Hungary

30.4.2006

Transitional period

Italy

Latvia

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

30.4.2006

Transitional period

Lithuania

30.4.2006

Transitional period

Luxembourg

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

Malta

30.4.2006

Transitional period

Netherlands

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Case closed on 12.10.2006

Case closed on 12.10.2006

Case closed on 11.12.2007

Case closed on 21.3.2007

Case closed on 12.10.2006

Case closed on 17.10.2007

Case closed on 27.6.2007

Case closed on 31.1.2008

Case closed on 12.10.2006

Lack of transposition declared by
judgement of the European Court
of Justice of 1.4.2008

Case closed on 27.6.2007

Case closed on 12.12.2006

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Member State

Transposition
deadline

Deadline type

Poland (1)

30.4.2006

Transitional period

Portugal

Romania

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

1.1.2007

Ordinary deadline

30.4.2006

Transitional period

30.4.2006

Transitional period

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

United Kingdom

30.4.2006

Ordinary deadline

Opening of
infraction
Procedures
for non-
communication

Current status

X

X

X

X

Case still under review (referred to
the European Court of Justice on
28.11.2007)

Case closed on 12.12.2006

Case closed on 12.12.2006

Case closed on 12.10.2006

(1) Poland has communicated a set of revised implementing measures on 13 March 2008 which are currently under review by the

Commission's legal services.

Operational aspects

Aditionally, the Directive has:

In nearly all Member States, the number of operating flights is
far greater than the inspection capacities. This means that only
spot checks are possible with regard to SAFA ramp inspections.
these have been organised either on a
Hitherto therefore,
random basis, or based upon relevant information whereby it
might be decided to focus the inspection (see 5.2 below)
according to certain criteria — e.g. regular analysis of the data-
base by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) or recom-
mendations issued by the European Commission or national
policies and priorities.

3. EFFECTS OF THE DIRECTIVE

First and foremost, Directive 2004/36/EC established the inspec-
tion of third-country aircraft using Community airports as a
legal obligation on Member States.

— definitely contributed to the significant increase of SAFA
ramp inspections conducted by the Member States over the
past years (see table 2 below),

— promoted and facilitated the exchange of aviation-safety
related information between the Member States themselves
together with the Commission and EASA as well as foreign
civil aviation authorities and international organisations,

— been recognised as an increasingly effective deterrent tool
vis-à-vis potentially unsafe operators flying into the Com-
munity.

the sound implementation of

the Directive has
Moreover,
proven to be a key element underpinning the establishment —
through Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 of
the European
Parliament and of the Council (1) — of a list of air carriers
subject
to an operating ban within the Community —
commonly referred to as the ‘blacklist’.

international

Secondly, the Directive introduced a harmonised approach to
the effective enforcement of
safety standards
within the Community by harmonising the rules and procedures
for ramp inspections of third-country aircraft landing at Com-
munity airports. Within this context, it also laid the groundwork
for the facilitation of harmonised training of inspectors and
personnel participating in the Programme, the development of
procedures and proposals for improving the Programme and its
tools, and the reporting on the information gathered.

Indeed, following the entry into force of the abovementioned
Regulation, SAFA ramp inspection reports and the record of
subsequent follow-up actions by Member States have acquired
paramount importance as a primary criterion in investigations
leading to the proposal for, and the eventual inclusion of several
operators in the Community ‘blacklist’.

(1) OJ L 344, 27.12.2005, p. 15.

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Table 2

Number of SAFA Inspections per country per year

EU Member States 2002-2007

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Total
reports

Belgique/België

104

92

74

България

Česká republika

Danmark

32

51

28

50

18

50

73

7

39

60

84

100

527

40

60

24

60

7

181

331

Deutschland

1 065

992

840

793

786

845

5 321

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Eesti

Éire/Ireland

Ελλάδα

España

10

France

11

Italia

12

Κύπρος/Kıbrıs

13

Latvija

14

Lietuva

15

Luxembourg

16 Magyarország

17 Malta

10

45

28

50

6

52

3

4

11

50

7

43

18

41

44

30

59

31

24

105

182

106

271

369

368

1 518

1 513

3 496

1 129

1 277

1 536

1 468

1 888

2 357

9 655

625

879

854

883

3 241

3

4

2

4

1

2

4

2

7

4

9

9

3

21

15

36

13

2

2

24

8

10

9

21

14

2

3

9

11

32

70

25

60

45

18

Nederland

113

154

182

243

267

277

1 236

19

Österreich

20

Polska

21

Portugal

22

România

23

Slovenija

24

Slovensko

25

Suomi/Finland

26

Sverige

60

28

5

12

24

54

25

9

40

8

7

7

52

111

35

35

6

4

51

60

141

100

108

8

56

62

27

United Kingdom

194

213

224

197

42

115

39

243

135

22

104

133

18

12

125

101

8

6

113

102

251

285

587

205

448

53

41

376

431

233

1 312

Total

3 013

3 030

3 993

4 793

6 517

7 376

28 722

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4. EXERCISE OF COMMUNITY COMPETENCE AND TRANSFER

TO EASA

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine
and the United Kingdom.

At
the 125th meeting of ECAC Directors General, ECAC
Member States discussed the future of the SAFA Programme
and agreed on the principle of its transfer to Community insti-
tutions (i.e. the European Commission and EASA), underlining
the need to retain the pan-European dimension of
the
Programme through the establishment of a mechanism that
would allow for the continued participation in the Programme
of the non-EU ECAC Member States.

A first concrete step in this direction was made with the enact-
ment (through a comitology procedure as enabled by Article 8
of Directive 2004/36/EC) of Commission Regulation (EC)
No 768/2006 (1). This Regulation provided for the transfer to
EASA of the tasks related to the SAFA Programme (hitherto
conducted by the JAA) primarily including responsibility for the
SAFA database — the backbone of the Programme — together
with other complementary activities aimed at ensuring common
standards for the performance of ramp inspections and related
training activities.

This transfer was carried out gradually throughout 2006 and
completed fully by the end of that year. The Commission notes
with satisfaction the coordination of
the smooth transition
process between the two entities and which takes an added
technical and
significance when one considers the practical,
logistical obstacles involved in making such a move possible
with the least possible disruption to the overall continuity of the
SAFA system.

4.1. 1 January 2007 — The European Community (EC)

SAFA Programme

As of 1 January 2007 therefore,
full responsibility for the
management and further development of the European Com-
munity (EC) SAFA Programme has been passed onto the
European Commission assisted by EASA.

The continued participation of
the non-EU ECAC Member
States, and thus the pan-European dimension of the Programme,
has been assured through the signature of a Working Arrange-
ment between each individual non-EU ECAC Member and EASA
on collection and exchange of information on the safety of
aircraft using Community airports and airports on the territory
of the individual State.

Including the EU-27 therefore, the EC-SAFA Programme can
today boast a total of 42 Participating States: Albania, Armenia,
Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Ireland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Republic of
Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,

Iceland,

(1) OJ L 134, 20.5.2006, p. 16.

Like its ECAC/JAA predecessor, the essential principle of the
EC SAFA Programme is that in each SAFA Participating State,
aircraft (‘third-country’ for EU States or ‘foreign’ for non-EU
ECAC States) can be subject to a ramp inspection. These inspec-
tions are chiefly concerned with the aircraft documents and
manuals, flight crew licenses, the apparent condition of the
aircraft and the presence and condition of mandatory cabin
safety equipment. The references for
these inspections are
contained in the Standards of the International Civil Aviation
Organisation (ICAO) Annexes 1 (Personnel Licensing), 6 (Opera-
tions of Aircraft) and 8 (Airworthiness of Aircraft). These
checks are carried out in accordance with a procedure which is
common to all participating States. Their outcome is then the
subject of reports which also follow a common format. In the
case of significant irregularities, the operator and the appro-
priate Aviation Authority (State of Operator or Registry) are
contacted in order to arrive at corrective measures to be taken
not only with regard to the aircraft inspected but also with
regard to other aircraft which could be concerned in the case of
an irregularity which is of a generic nature. All data from the
reports as well as supplementary information (for example a list
of actions undertaken and finalised following an inspection) are
centralised in a computerised database set up and managed by
EASA in Cologne, Germany.

The main features of
summarised as follows:

the EC SAFA Programme can be

— its application by all the 42 SAFA Participating States across

Europe,

— the broad dissemination of inspection results through the

centralised database,

— its bottom-up approach — in that the Programme is essen-

tially centered around ramp inspections of aircraft,

— its inherent objective of checking for compliance with ICAO
Standards which are commonly applicable to all inspected
aircraft internationally.

Operational structure

As provided for under Directive 2004/36/EC together with its
implementing Regulation (EC) No 768/2006, the operational
structure of the Programme comprises two main organs:

— the Air Safety Committee established by Council Regu-
lation (EEC) No 3922/91: the first operating component
upon which the Commission relies to adopt harmonised
implementation measures to Directive 2004/36/EC aimed at
enhancing the effectiveness of the EC SAFA Programme, in
particular
the inspection/reporting regime, as provided
under Articles 8 and 12 of the said Directive,

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— EASA: the second operating component which as provided
under Regulation (EC) No 768/2006 — in addition to
undertaking the database-related operational
tasks —
provides the Commission and the Air Safety Committee
with proposals for the further improvement and develop-
the EC SAFA Programme together with timely
ment of
analysis (through the appropriate analytical tools) of
the
reports-input into the database.

Aditionally, the Commission has set up — under the auspices of
the Air Safety Committee — a European SAFA Steering
Group (ESSG) composed of representatives from all of the
42 Participating States. Apart from bringing together national
experts acting in a consultative role upon request from the
Commission and/or the (Air Safety) Committee itself, this group
serves as an invaluable communications channel between the
Community and the non-EU Participating States, further under-
towards
scoring the Commission's declared commitment
retaining and indeed enhancing the pan-European dimension of
the Programme.

5. STRENGTHENING THE EC SAFA PROGRAMME

Going by the experience garnered following the entry into force
of Directive 2004/36/EC, its inextricable link with the ‘blacklist’
Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 as well as the transfer of the
entire SAFA Programme under Community competence —
unforeseen at the time of adoption of the Directive — it imme-
diately became apparent to the Commission that the existing
provisions of the aforementioned Directive demanded an urgent
review in order to ensure the smooth functioning and further
development of the Programme.

the Commission put

During 2007 therefore,
forward two
proposals for new legislative instruments dealing respectively
with the procedures for conducting ramp inspections and with
the prioritization of the inspections performed by the Member
States (see points 5.1 and 5.2 below). Following extensive
discussion in the Air Safety Committee and scrutiny of the final
texts by the European Parliament, these new legislative instru-
ments were both adopted by the Commission on 16 April
2008 (1).

Other possible improvements and future developments of the
Programme are explained under points 5.3 and 5.4 below.

5.1. Commission Directive amending Annex II of Directive

2004/36/EC

As originally adopted, Annex II
to Directive 2004/36/EC
contained only very general criteria illustrating the broad frame-
work for a more comprehensive set of procedures for the
conduct and subsequent reporting of ramp inspections by the
Member States.

From another related perspective,
profile being ascribed to the results of

in light of

the increased
ramp inspections

(1) OJ L 109, 19.4.2008, p. 7 and p. 17.

conducted under
the SAFA Programme as an important
criterion considered by the Commission in taking its decisions
on the inclusion of carriers in the Community ‘blacklist’, it has
also been felt necessary to amend the said Annex in order to
give legal standing (and enforceability) to the core elements
underpinning the procedures for the harmonised conduct and
reporting of ramp inspections by Member States. In this sense,
the amended Annex to the Directive addresses several needs
which were identified over the previous months, namely:

1. the necessity for the incorporation in the Annex of core
elements for a manual of EC SAFA ramp inspection proce-
dures which is strictly restricted to include those provisions
which it
is deemed necessary to make mandatory upon
Member States (through their inclusion within Annex II to
the Directive); making it also applicable to the non-EU Parti-
cipating States through their Working Arrangements with
EASA. These core elements concern:

— qualification criteria and training requirements for SAFA

inspectors,

— relevant

safety standards which are central

to the

EC SAFA Programme,

— inspection procedures,

— categorisation of findings,

— follow-up actions to be taken pursuant to the various

possible outcomes of a ramp inspection;

2. the necessity to replace the ‘SAFA checklist’ forming part of
the original Annex with the present ‘SAFA procedures’ as
most recently updated;

3. the necessity for a specific provision obliging all Participating
States to respect a deadline of not more than 15 working
days between the date of a ramp inspection, and the input of
that inspection's report into the centralized database in order
to improve the accuracy and relevance of the analysis regu-
larly conducted by EASA of the inputted reports;

4. the necessity to establish a standard ‘Proof of Inspection’, a
section of which is handed to relevant personnel of
the
aircraft being inspected against a signed acknowledgment of
receipt;

5. the necessity of rewording several parts of the original text
for the sake of improving the clarity and readability of the
Annex.

In the amended Annex, EASA undertakes to supplement these
core elements by developing guidance material to be applied by
Member States. For this purpose, EASA shall establish a trans-
parent procedure for consulting the Member States drawing on
available expertise in the aviation regulatory authorities of
Member States and by involving, whenever necessary, appro-
priate experts from relevant interested parties. To this effect, it
may create a working group.

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5.2. Commission Regulation

implementing Directive
2004/36/EC as regards the prioritisation of ramp
inspections on aircraft using Community airports

5.4. EASA extension of competences — Regulation (EC)
No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the
Council

The Commission has repeatedly reiterated its commitment
towards making the best possible use of all the tools at its
disposal for the gathering of intelligence on aviation safety in
order to maximise the efficiency of the limited resources avail-
able under the EC SAFA Programme. To this end, this measure
empowers
‘qualitative
the Commission to formally request
targeting’ through the prioritisation of a number of the ramp
inspections conducted by Member States on particular subjects
identified according to a set of criteria (established by the Regu-
lation) as being potentially susceptible to safety deficiencies.

The Commission believes that this measure should reasonably
harness the random nature of
the SAFA ramp inspection
Programme by helping to identify better potentially hazardous
subjects as well as enabling the collection of further data on
such subjects; possibly also leading to the presentation of even
better-defined cases for decision under the ‘blacklist’ Regulation
(EC) No 2111/2005.

5.3.

‘Quantitative targeting’

Referring back to table 2 above (see page 7), whilst one can
note that since 2001 the overall amount of SAFA ramp inspec-
tions conducted in the Community has more than doubled, one
can equally note the gross disparity in the different amounts of
ramp inspections conducted by the individual Member States.

Whilst fully appreciating the equally gross disparity which in
many cases exists with regard to the human and material
resources available to different Member States, the Commission
believes that irrelevant of the resources at their disposal, the
output registered by many Member States in terms of annual
inspections conducted border on the unacceptable. On a State
by State basis this applies to:

— the actual number of inspections per se,

— the number of inspections conducted in comparison with
the traffic volume to/from each particular Member State.

this situation needs to be improved.

Within this context, the Commission has repeatedly reiterated
that
It continues to
examine with EASA and the Member States a way to establish a
minimum number of inspections that each Member State would
conduct yearly on the basis, of course, of various parameters
such as the number of flights, international airports, intensity of
checks conducted previously in other Member States, etc.

On 20 February 2008, the Council and the European Parliament
adopted Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 on common rules in the
field of civil aviation and establishing a European Aviation
Safety Agency, and repealing Council Directive 91/670/EEC,
Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 and Directive 2004/36/EC (1)
(hereinafter referred to as the ‘EASA Regulation’). Its provisions
foresee the replacement of Directive 2004/36/EC (and the
related implementing rules) by a set of rules adopted under the
EASA Regulation as follows:

Article 10 of this Regulation — which entered into force on
8 April 2008 — provides for the measures which were hitherto
covered by Directive 2004/36/EC. Moreover, Article 10(5) stipu-
lates that implementing measures related to this Article may be
adopted through comitology (‘… in accordance with the regulatory
procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 65(4) of the Regulation’).

In addition, Article 69 of the Regulation provides that Directive
2004/36/EC shall be repealed as from the entry into force of
the implementing measures referred to in Article 10(5) of the
Regulation, and without prejudice to the implementing rules
referred to in Article 8(2) of Directive 2004/36/EC.

Finally, the principles contained in Article 10 shall apply only as
from the dates specified in its respective implementing rules, but
in any case by not later than 8 April 2012.

6. THE SAFA ‘AGGREGATE REPORT’ (2)

Article 6(2) of Directive 2004/36/EC provides that the Commis-
sion shall publish yearly an aggregated information report avail-
able to the public and the industry stakeholders containing an
analysis of all information received through the reports of ramp
inspections conducted on aircraft using Community airports.
Such analysis should be simple and easy to understand, indi-
cating whether there exists an increased safety risk to air passen-
gers. The source of the information contained in such analysis
should be dis-identified.

In this respect, a first Aggregated Report was adopted and
published by the Commission in February 2008 which analysed
the results of the ramp inspections performed in the time frame
between 30 April 2006 until 31 December 2006. Over 2008,
the same report will be phased-in on a full year basis (and
annually thereafter), covering the period between 1 January and
31 December 2007 — the first full year following the transfer
of responsibility for the management and development of the
SAFA Programme from ECAC and the JAA to Community
competence.

(1) OJ L 79, 19.3.2008, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 42, 15.2.2008, p. 1.

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The Commission believes that, for the sake of increased trans-
parency and accountability with regard to all the actors involved
in the Programme and referred to in such a document as well as
vis-à-vis the European Parliament and the public opinion in
general, the constraints imposed by Article 6(2) of Directive
2004/36/EC should be softened to allow that
the referred
annual reports provide more accurate information as regards the
safety performance of different actors involved.

7. CONCLUSIONS

foreign operators. However,

Based upon the SAFA inspections performed over the last few
years, experience shows that these give a general indication of
this indication is
the safety of
limited in the sense that no full picture is obtained about the
safety of any particular aircraft or operator. This is due to the
fact that certain aspects are difficult to assess during an inspec-
tion (e.g. Crew Resource Management, full airworthiness status,
etc.) owing to the limited time available to perform an inspec-
tion and consequently the limited level of detail possible during
such an inspection.

A full assessment of a particular aircraft or operator can only be
obtained through the continuous oversight by the responsible
Aviation Authority (State of Operator or State of Registry). In
this manner,
the information gained through the EC SAFA
Programme is indeed very useful:

— primarily as a pre-emptive tool helping to identify potential
negative safety trends, whereby a numerous and/or recurring
number of findings concerning a particular operator,
is a
very good indicator of potential structural weaknesses both
with regard to the quality control management of
that
operator as well as the level of safety oversight exercised by
the responsible national civil aviation authorities of the State
where that operator is certified; similar negative trends may
also be identified concerning specific aircraft types,

— more directly, SAFA inspections may contribute in real-time
to the safe operation of the particular aircraft which has just
been inspected prompting the inspecting authorities to
ensure that corrective actions are taken immediately prior to
any further operations being conducted by that aircraft.

inspections performed is shared,

Information from all
thus
contributing to a more complete picture about a certain aircraft,
aircraft type, operator or all operators from a particular State.
The SAFA centralised database is therefore particularly useful as
it contributes to a rapid flow of such information to all the
States participating in the EC SAFA Programme.

Additionally, since the coming into force of Regulation (EC)
No 2111/2005 (‘EC blacklist’), SAFA inspections have acquired
an increased importance as one of the criteria considered by the
Commission in taking its decisions on the inclusion of carriers
in the Community list. Indeed, this has been the case since the
establishment of the first Community list in March 2006 and its
subsequent regular updates.

Summing up the conclusions arrived at in this report, one may
say that:

for

regime

— Directive 2004/36/EC established in the Community a
mandatory
ramp inspections of
regular
third-country aircraft using Community airports whilst
laying down the foundations for harmonised procedures
regarding the conduct, reporting and follow-up of such
inspections and exchange of information thereof between
the Member States, the Commission and EASA,

— with some minor exceptions, there have been no major
problems for Member States in transposing and imple-
menting the provisions of the Directive,

— the decision to transfer the management and development
of
the entire ECAC/JAA SAFA Programme under Com-
munity competence brought about an urgent need for
supplementary legislation to the Directive which legislation
was enacted in a timely manner enabling the smooth
transfer of the Programme,

— the core elements underpinning the Community's ramp
inspection regime have been made legally binding through
the amendment of Annex II to the Directive, thereby rami-
fying their harmonisation across the Member States as well
as the other 15 SAFA Participating States. This measure
ramp inspection
should improve the overall quality of
reports, which is of particular importance within the context
of investigations related to the Community ‘blacklist’ of air
carriers established under Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005,

— implementing legislation has been enacted which states the
rules and criteria for the prioritisation of their ramp inspec-
tions on particular
subjects which may be identified
according to established criteria as posing a potential threat
to aviation safety,

— whilst

the overall amount of SAFA ramp inspections
conducted in the Community has more than doubled since
2001, there is a gross disparity in the different amounts of
ramp inspections conducted by the individual Member
States. Accordingly, the Commission examines the feasibility
of establishing a minimum quota of
inspections to be
conducted by individual Member States,

— through the adoption of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 on
common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a
European Aviation Safety Agency, Directive 2004/36/EC
should be eventually repealed — at the latest by 8 April
2012 — to be gradually replaced by the provisions in
said Regulation and subsequent
Article 10 of
implementing rules to be enacted under Article 10(5). In
this respect, it is envisaged that the EASA's responsibilities
vis-à-vis the management and further development of the
Programme shall be considerably increased.

the