Coordinated Initiative Asks Basic, Big Questions

In a coordinated initiative the European Commission and EASA have launched two separate consultations asking some of the very big questions in aviation life; "how is the EASA regulation working so far, what did we do wrong and where should we go from here?"

According to IAOPA, this is the first major opening to make changes to the EASA Basic Regulation since it was adopted in 2008. Since then problem solving has mainly been a matter of finding work-arounds when developing the implementing rules. Now is the chance to look at the fundamental flaws in the Basic Regulation and get them fixed. The process will most likely take three to four years to complete, so this is indeed THE opportunity we will get this decade to fix what is broken and steer EASA in the right direction.

When reading the motivation for the consultations it is clear that both EASA and the Commission have understood the message that IAOPA has been driving home for years - that the current regulation system for GA is not fit for purpose. Among the fundamental issues that are now up for discussion are things like the definition of commercial operations, the definition of complex aircraft, requirements for third country licenses and aircraft, the CAMO system and the requirement for registered facilities to become approved training organisations (ATOs).

Looking at the way ahead EASA and the Commission are asking us if there are new areas where EASA should take over responsibility, like a common EU level aircraft register, a common repository for licenses and approvals, or strengthening EASA's role in the international context. Also the question of the future financing of EASA is on the table with ideas such as en-route fees, passenger charges, etc.

These are very significant questions and there is no doubt that the two consultations will be studied carefully by AOPAs and other stakeholders all over Europe. IAOPA Europe encourages all stakeholders to submit their reply to both the EU Commission and EASA. Also, IAOPA Europe will produce a consolidated response and therefore invites all members to provide their input to IAOPA at the email iaopa@iaopa-eur.org before August 15th. The deadline for the official consultations is September 15th 2014.

FMI: Consultation One, Consultation Two