ICAO Deadline For ERP Compliance Is November Of This Year

The EBAA announced Monday that business aircraft operator Pietro Zaccari of ALBA Servizi Aerotrasporti as the official launch customer for its newly released Emergency Response Planning Guidance Manual.

The International Civil Aviation Organization’s  mandatory compliance deadline for a Safety Management System - which includes an Emergency Response Plan – is November 2010. To that end, EBAA and Associate Member Gates Aviation have developed, together with members of an ERP Steering Committee, comprehensive guidance materials on Emergency Response Planning to assist business aircraft operators in meeting the forthcoming mandate.

Subjects included in the Manual are:

• Emergency Response Plan Imperatives.
• Setting up an Emergency Response Center.
• Care and Welfare, Financial Assistance.
• Media Response/Handling, Emergency Services Liaison.
• Insurance and Legal Issues.

“We already have an Emergency Response Plan, but it’s nearly ten years old,” explains Zaccari. “We ordered the EBAA’s Guidance Manual so that we could benchmark what we’ve compiled against new ideas and best practices, which could then be integrated into our newest version expected to be ready by this July.”

(L-R) Brian Humphries, Pietro Zaccari

Brian Humphries, President and CEO of the European Business Aviation Association adds: “We’ve published this ERP Guidance Manual with very good reason. A survey we conducted last year showed that just under one-third of business aircraft operators did not possess an Emergency Response Plan at all and just under half had never tested or exercised their response plans. Providing generic guidance on policies and procedures, the new manual will assist operators in compiling specific responsibilities, duties and tasks in preparation for a major event. An ERP is simply something you must have and have right – even though you hope to never have to use it.”

Produced in the form of a digital Emergency Response Planning Guidance Manual on CD-Rom, it is also available to order via the EBAA website. The Manual is offered to European Business Aviation Association members and all interested operators, and will be subject to periodic updates, which will be made readily available to users.

The ERP Guidance Manual was developed by EBAA and Gates Aviation LLP, together with members of an ERP Steering Group comprising representatives from the following companies: Gates and Partners; Bombardier Aerospace; Execujet Aviation Group; IBAC; Dassault Aviation; Flight Safety International; British Helicopter Association; Tyrolean Jet Services; and VistaJet.

FMI: www.ebaa.org