Document ID: 32011R1178

COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 1178/2011
of 3 November 2011
laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures related to civil aviation aircrew pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 February 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), and in particular Articles 7(6), 8(5) and 10(5) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 aims at establishing and maintaining a high uniform level of civil aviation safety in Europe. That Regulation provides for the means of achieving that objective and other objectives in the field of civil aviation safety.
(2)
Pilots involved in the operation of certain aircraft, as well as flight simulation training devices, persons and organisations involved in training, testing or checking of those pilots, have to comply with the relevant essential requirements set out in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008. According to that Regulation pilots as well as persons and organisations involved in their training should be certified once they have been found to comply with essential requirements.
(3)
Similarly, pilots should be issued with a medical certificate and aero-medical examiners, responsible for assessing the medical fitness of pilots, should be certified once they have been found to comply with the relevant essential requirements. However, Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 envisages the possibility of general medical practitioners to act as aero-medical examiners under certain conditions and if permitted under national law.
(4)
Cabin crew involved in the operation of certain aircraft have to comply with the relevant essential requirements set out in Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008. According to that Regulation, cabin crew should be periodically assessed for medical fitness to safely exercise their assigned safety duties. Compliance must be shown by an appropriate assessment based on aero-medical best practice.
(5)
Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 requires the Commission to adopt the necessary implementing rules for establishing the conditions for certifying pilots as well as persons involved in their training, testing or checking, for the attestation of cabin crew members and for the assessment of their medical fitness.
(6)
The requirements and procedures for the conversion of national pilot licences and national flight engineer licences into pilot licences should be laid down, to ensure that they are allowed to perform their activities under harmonised conditions; flight test qualifications should also be converted in accordance with this Regulation.
(7)
It should be possible for Member States to accept licences issued by third countries where a level of safety equivalent to that specified by Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 can be guaranteed; Conditions for the acceptance of licences issued by third countries should be laid down.
(8)
In order to ensure that training commenced before the application of this Regulation may be taken into account for the purposes of obtaining pilots’ licences, the conditions for recognising training already completed should be laid down; the conditions for recognising military licences should also be laid down.
(9)
It is necessary to provide sufficient time for the aeronautical industry and Member State administrations to adapt to the new regulatory framework, to allow Member States the time to issue specific types of pilot licences and medical certificates not covered by the ‘JAR’, and to recognise under certain conditions the validity of licences and certificates issued, as well as aero-medical assessment performed, before this Regulation applies.
(10)
Council Directive 91/670/EEC of 16 December 1991 on mutual acceptance of personnel licences for the exercise of functions in civil aviation (2) is repealed in accordance with Article 69(2) of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008. The measures adopted by this Regulation are to be regarded as the corresponding measures.
(11)
In order to ensure a smooth transition and a high uniform level of civil aviation safety in the Union, implementing measures should reflect the state of the art, including best practices, and scientific and technical progress in the field of pilot training and aircrew aero-medical fitness. Accordingly, technical requirements and administrative procedures agreed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the Joint Aviation Authorities until 30 June 2009 as well as existing legislation pertaining to a specific national environment, should be considered.
(12)
The Agency prepared draft implementing rules and submitted them as an opinion to the Commission in accordance with Article 19(1) of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008.
(13)
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 65 of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Subject matter
This Regulation lays down detailed rules for:
(1)
different ratings for pilots’ licences, the conditions for issuing, maintaining, amending, limiting, suspending or revoking licences, the privileges and responsibilities of the holders of licences, the conditions for the conversion of existing national pilots’ licences and of national flight engineers’ licences into pilots’ licences, as well as the conditions for the acceptance of licences from third countries;
(2)
the certification of persons responsible for providing flight training or flight simulation training and for assessing pilots’ skills;
(3)
different medical certificates for pilots, the conditions for issuing, maintaining, amending, limiting, suspending or revoking medical certificates, the privileges and responsibilities of the holders of medical certificates as well as the conditions for the conversion of national medical certificates into commonly recognised medical certificates;
(4)
the certification of aero-medical examiners, as well as the conditions under which general medical practitioners may act as aero-medical examiners;
(5)
the periodical aero-medical assessment of cabin crew members, as well as the qualification of persons responsible for this assessment.
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)
‘Part-FCL licence’ means a flight crew licence which complies with the requirements of Annex I;
(2)
‘JAR’ means joint aviation requirements adopted by the Joint Aviation Authorities as applicable on 30 June 2009;
(3)
‘Light aircraft pilot licence (LAPL)’ means the leisure pilot licence referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008;
(4)
‘JAR-compliant licence’ means the pilot licence and attached ratings, certificates, authorisations and/or qualifications, issued or recognised, in accordance with the national legislation reflecting JAR and procedures, by a Member State having implemented the relevant JAR and having being recommended for mutual recognition within the Joint Aviation Authorities’ system in relation to such JAR;
(5)
‘Non-JAR-compliant licence’ means the pilot licence issued or recognised by a Member State in accordance with national legislation and not having been recommended for mutual recognition in relation to the relevant JAR;
(6)
‘Credit’ means the recognition of prior experience or qualifications;
(7)
‘Credit report’ means a report on the basis of which prior experience or qualifications may be recognised;
(8)
‘Conversion report’ means a report on the basis of which a licence may be converted into a Part-FCL licence;
(9)
‘JAR-compliant pilots’ medical certificate and aero-medical examiners’ certificate’ means the certificate issued or recognised, in accordance with the national legislation reflecting JAR and procedures, by a Member State having implemented the relevant JAR and having been recommended for mutual recognition within the Joint Aviation Authorities’ system in relation to such JAR;
(10)
‘Non-JAR-compliant pilots’ medical certificate and aero-medical examiners’ certificate’ means the certificate issued or recognised by a Member State in accordance with national legislation and not having been recommended for mutual recognition in relation to the relevant JAR.
Article 3
Pilot licensing and medical certification
Without prejudice to Article 7, pilots of aircraft referred to in Article 4(1)(b) and (c) and Article 4(5) of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 shall comply with the technical requirements and administrative procedures laid down in Annex I and Annex IV to this Regulation.
Article 4
Existing national pilots’ licences
1. JAR-compliant licences issued or recognised by a Member State before 8 April 2012 shall be deemed to have been issued in accordance with this Regulation. Member States shall replace these licences with licences complying with the format laid down in Part-ARA by 8 April 2017 at the latest.
2. Non-JAR-compliant licences including any associated ratings, certificates, authorisations and/or qualifications issued or recognised by a Member State before the applicability of this Regulation shall be converted into Part-FCL licences by the Member State that issued the licence.
3. Non-JAR-compliant licences shall be converted into Part-FCL licences and associated ratings or certificates in accordance with:
(a)
the provisions of Annex II; or
(b)
the elements laid down in a conversion report.
4. The conversion report shall:
(a)
be established by the Member State that issued the pilot licence in consultation with the European Aviation Safety Agency (the Agency);
(b)
describe the national requirements on the basis of which the pilot licences were issued;
(c)
describe the scope of the privileges that were given to the pilots;
(d)
indicate for which requirements in Annex I credit is to be given;
(e)
indicate any limitations that need to be included on the Part-FCL licences and any requirements the pilot has to comply with in order to remove those limitations.
5. The conversion report shall include copies of all documents necessary to demonstrate the elements set out in points (a) to (e) of paragraph 4, including copies of the relevant national requirements and procedures. When developing the conversion report, Member States shall aim at allowing pilots to, as far as possible, maintain their current scope of activities.
6. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 3, holders of a class rating instructor certificate or an examiner certificate who have privileges for single-pilot high performance complex aircraft shall have those privileges converted into a type rating instructor certificate or an examiner certificate for single-pilot aeroplanes.
7. A Member State may authorise a student pilot to exercise limited privileges without supervision before he/she meets all the requirements necessary for the issuance of an LAPL under the following conditions:
(a)
the privileges shall be limited to its national territory or a part of it;
(b)
the privileges shall be restricted to a limited geographical area and to single-engine piston aeroplanes with a maximum take-off mass not exceeding 2 000 kg, and shall not include the carriage of passengers;
(c)
those authorisations shall be issued on the basis of an individual safety risk assessment carried out by an instructor following a concept safety risk assessment carried out by the Member State;
(d)
the Member State shall submit periodical reports to the Commission and the Agency every 3 years.
Article 5
Existing national pilots’ medical certificates and aero-medical examiners certificates
1. JAR-compliant pilots’ medical certificates and aero-medical examiners’ certificates issued or recognised by a Member State before this Regulation applies shall be deemed to have been issued in accordance with this Regulation.
2. Member States shall replace pilots’ medical certificates and aero-medical examiners’ certificates with certificates complying with the format laid down in Part-ARA by 8 April 2017 at the latest.
3. Non-JAR-compliant pilot medical certificates and aero-medical examiners’ certificates issued by a Member State before this Regulation applies shall remain valid until the date of their next revalidation or until 8 April 2017, whichever is the earlier.
4. The revalidation of the certificates referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall comply with the provisions of Annex IV.
Article 6
Conversion of flight test qualifications
1. Pilots who before this Regulation applies conducted category 1 and 2 flight tests as defined in the Annex to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1702/2003 (3), or who provided instruction to flight test pilots, shall have their flight test qualifications converted into flight test ratings in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation and, where applicable, flight test instructor certificates by the Member State that issued the flight test qualifications.
2. This conversion shall be carried out in accordance with the elements established in a conversion report that complies with the requirements set out in Article 4(4) and (5).
Article 7
Existing national flight engineers’ licences
1. In order to convert flight engineer licences, issued in accordance with Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention, into Part-FCL licences, holders shall apply to the Member State that issued the licences.
2. Flight engineer licences shall be converted into Part-FCL licences in accordance with a conversion report that complies with the requirements set out in Article 4(4) and (5).
3. When applying for the airline transport pilot licence (ATPL) for aeroplanes, the provisions on credit in FCL.510.A(c)(2) of Annex I shall be complied with.
Article 8
Conditions for the acceptance of licences from third countries
1. Without prejudice to Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and where there are no agreements concluded between the Union and a third country covering pilot licensing, Member States may accept third country licences, and associated medical certificates issued by or on behalf of third countries, in accordance with the provisions of Annex III to this Regulation.
2. Applicants for Part-FCL licences already holding at least an equivalent licence, rating or certificate issued in accordance with Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention by a third country shall comply with all the requirements of Annex I to this Regulation, except that the requirements of course duration, number of lessons and specific training hours may be reduced.
3. The credit given to the applicant shall be determined by the Member State to which the pilot applies on the basis of a recommendation from an approved training organisation.
4. Holders of an ATPL issued by or on behalf of a third country in accordance with Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention who have completed the experience requirements for the issue of an ATPL in the relevant aircraft category as set out in Subpart F of Annex I to this Regulation may be given full credit as regards the requirements to undergo a training course prior to undertaking the theoretical knowledge examinations and the skill test, provided that the third country licence contains a valid type rating for the aircraft to be used for the ATPL skill test.
5. Aeroplane or helicopter type ratings may be issued to holders of Part-FCL licences that comply with the requirements for the issue of those ratings established by a third country. Such ratings will be restricted to aircraft registered in that third country. This restriction may be removed when the pilot complies with the requirements in point C.1 of Annex III.
Article 9
Credit for training commenced prior to the application of this Regulation
1. In respect of issuing Part-FCL licences in accordance with Annex I, training commenced prior to the application of this Regulation in accordance with the Joint Aviation Authorities requirements and procedures, under the regulatory oversight of a Member State recommended for mutual recognition within the Joint Aviation Authorities’ system in relation to the relevant JAR, shall be given full credit provided that the training and testing were completed by 8 April 2016 at the latest.
2. Training commenced prior to the application of this Regulation in accordance with Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention shall be given credit for the purposes of issuing Part-FCL licences on the basis of a credit report established by the Member State in consultation with the Agency.
3. The credit report shall describe the scope of the training, indicate for which requirements of Part-FCL licences credit is given and, if applicable, which requirements applicants need to comply with in order to be issued with Part-FCL licences. It shall include copies of all documents necessary to demonstrate the scope of the training and of the national regulations and procedures in accordance with which the training was commenced.
Article 10
Credit for pilot licences obtained during military service
1. In order for holders of military flight crew licences to obtain Part-FCL licences, they shall apply to the Member State where they served.
2. The knowledge, experience and skill gained in military service shall be given credit for the purposes of the relevant requirements of Annex I in accordance with the elements of a credit report established by the Member State in consultation with the Agency.
3. The credit report shall:
(a)
describe the national requirements on the basis of which the military licences, ratings, certificates, authorisations and/or qualifications were issued;
(b)
describe the scope of the privileges that were given to the pilots;
(c)
indicate for which requirements of Annex I credit is to be given;
(d)
indicate any limitations that need to be included on the Part-FCL licences and indicate any requirements pilots have to comply with to remove those limitations;
(e)
include copies of all documents necessary to demonstrate the elements above, accompanied by copies of the relevant national requirements and procedures.
Article 11
Cabin crew medical fitness
1. Cabin crew members involved in the operation of aircraft referred to in Article 4(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 shall comply with the technical requirements and administrative procedures laid down in Annex IV.
2. The medical examinations or assessments of cabin crew members that were conducted in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91 (4) and which are still valid at the date of application of this Regulation shall be deemed to be valid according to this Regulation until the earlier of the following:
(a)
the end of the validity period determined by the competent authority in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91; or
(b)
the end of the validity period provided for in point MED.C.005 of Annex IV.
The validity period shall be counted from the date of the last medical examination or assessment.
By the end of the validity period any subsequent aero-medical re-assessment shall be conducted in accordance with Annex IV.
Article 12
Entry into force and application
1. This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 8 April 2012.
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may decide not to apply the following provisions of Annex I until 8 April 2015:
(a)
the provisions related to pilot licences of powered-lift aircraft, airships, balloons and sailplanes;
(b)
the provisions of Subpart B;
(c)
the provisions of points FCL.800, FCL.805, FCL.815 and FCL.820;
(d)
in the case of helicopters, the provisions of Section 8 of Subpart J;
(e)
the provisions of Sections 10 and 11 of Subpart J.
3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may decide not to convert non-JAR-compliant aeroplane and helicopter licences that they have issued until 8 April 2014.
4. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may decide not to apply the provisions of this Regulation to pilots holding a licence and associated medical certificate issued by a third country involved in the non-commercial operation of aircraft specified in Article 4(1)(b) or (c) of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 until 8 April 2014.
5. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may decide not to apply the provisions of Section 3 of Subpart B of Annex IV until 8 April 2015.
6. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may decide not to apply the provisions of Subpart C of Annex IV until 8 April 2014.
7. When a Member State makes use of the provisions of paragraphs 2 to 6 it shall notify the Commission and the Agency. This notification shall describe the reasons for such derogation as well as the programme for implementation containing actions envisaged and related timing.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 3 November 2011.

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