The first step in this basic review is to put the regulation into context. Specifically, we need to understand some basic principles behind the role of regulators, and how their work creates the boundaries for our work within the flight operations world.
In this first waypoint, we will draw a summary of the authorities in the aviation domain. We will take a look at their history, their vital role, as well as new opportunities made possible by their collaboration.
Nations and Governments
Governments make rules and regulations that aviation needs to comply with. They are the catalyst, the enabler, which make air operations possible. And a fundamental characteristic that every nation provides to their subjects, be it persons, airlines, airports or manufacturers, is a nationality.
The world consists of 195 independent nations, each with its own sovereignty, and with full control over its territory, waters and airspace. And so, every nation has the exclusive jurisdiction to make and enforce laws as it deems fit. And this is especially the case in aviation. Every single nation state is sovereign in defining and enforcing aviation rules and regulations.
Problem is, in our globalised world, a lot of flights occur between one nation and another. So the need for cooperation between nations was felt very early on. During the first decade of civil aviation, in the 1940s, multilateral aviation treaties were agreed on to establish nationality and jurisdiction, or liability in case of an accident, for example.
Basically, a multilateral treaty is a formal document by which independent nations transfer some of their independent powers to a jointly formed entity – what is known as a supranational body – where, through an act of ratification, the underlying treaty becomes part of the nation’s legal system. To keep the sovereignty of every nation, they are given a veto right on all decisions made within this supranational body. Any changes to the treaty must be agreed on by all member states.
The enforcement of this international rule making is executed by the member state – in our case, the aviation authority within that state.
The nationality of individuals, aircraft, or airlines determine which laws that entity needs to comply with. For example, an aircraft needs a registration in a particular nation to be airworthy, a pilot needs to be licensed by the authority of a nation state to be able to fly, and all individuals need passports or identification cards to fly.
The Chicago Convention, ICAO & SARPs
The supranational body in the world of aviation is the International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAO or ICAO. ICAO was formed in 1947 through the Chicago Convention of 1944 – widely considered to be the constitution of civil aviation. ICAO is a specialised agency of the United Nations, with 191 members. As we explained before, all these members have a right to veto any proposed changes to ICAO rules.
The Chicago Convention set standards on nationality, jurisdiction and commercial agreements between states, defining which airlines can operate to which countries and airports. Put simply, it set how nations should treat each other within the world of aviation.
The Chicago Convention set the foundation for operational rule making by defining the so-called Annexes to the Chicago convention. 19 Annexes deal with different areas of the aviation industry. For example, Annex 1 deals with personnel licensing, Annex 6 deals with Operation of Aircraft, and Annex 19 deals with Safety Management. These annexes set the minimum requirements to be added to national legislation. In turn, different nations can add more requirements as they need.
Annexes contain Standards and Recommendation Practices. Standards are very strict, and contain words like “shall” and “must”. Recommendations use words like “should” or “may”, and are generally implemented. However, states sometimes divert from them due to different reasons. ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices are referred to as SARPs.
National rules, are therefore based on ICAO SARPs. But ICAO does not possess powers to enforce rules, and cannot enforce sanctions on those nations which violate ICAO rulings. States can only be sanctioned by other states. Therefore, if a country does not comply with ICAO standards, other countries may decide to suspend landing rights of aircraft registered in that country. As no nation wants to be in that position it is in everyone’s self-interest that they comply with ICAO SARPs.
So, to summarise, ICAO sets the standards, and national authorities make and enforce the rules.
National Aviation Authorities (NAAs)
National Aviation Authorities have a crucial role. Put very simply, anything related to flying aircraft needs to be certified. This means that a certification is needed which declares that the object, activity or operation is compliant with all rules and regulations. NAAs are responsible for issuing these certifications, or revoking them if they need to.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency
After a period of unifying national legislation between all EU member states, under a regime called Joint Aviation Requirements (JAA), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, or EASA, was legally established in 2002. EASA is what is known as a designated agency, or an agency of the European Union with the responsibility of aviation safety. EASA certify most of the equipment as well as methods of operation, repair and maintenance of that equipment. EASA also draft opinions, for the European Commission to turn into legislative proposals, and makes decisions, also known on ‘soft law’ which regulate how operators implement the Commission’s rules. This begins to shed our focus to the Air Operations Regulation.
While EASA creates the rules and regulations, enforcement remains the responsibility of NAAs of each of the member states. For example, in Germany by the LBA, in France by the DGCA, in Switzerland by FOCA, and in Malta by TM CAD. EASA has 29 members states: namely, all members states of the European Union, and countries which are part of the European Free Trade Association, i.e. Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Iceland.
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