Date: 10 Oct 2003
Time: 10:01
The long-awaited European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), a new agency of the European Union which has been given specific regulatory tasks in the field of aviation safety, has become operational. Its establishment is key to the implementation of the European Union’s strategy to maintain and improve the level of aviation safety in Europe and beyond.
As its in-house expertise grows, the Agency shall help the European Commission to shape new rules for aviation safety in areas such as the certification of aeronautical products, parts and appliances; the approval of organisations and personnel engaged in the maintenance of these products; the approval of air operations; licensing of air crew and the safety oversight of airports and air traffic services operators.
The Agency shall be responsible for issuing certificates for aeronautical products as well as approvals for design and maintenance organisations. From now on, the Agency will issue certificates (recognised in all member states of the EU), although transitional periods have been built into the new rules (which implement Regulation 1592/2002) to prevent undue disruption to the civil aviation sector.
The European Community, national regulators, industry and others active in the aviation sector have sought for a long time to give Europe a real aviation safety authority, similar to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States, which would be able to draw-up common standards to ensure the highest level of safety; oversee their uniform application across Europe and promote them at world level.
Such an authority should also contribute to Community efforts to limit the environmental impact of aviation. As such there is a need to translate environmental requirements (in the field of gaseous emissions and noise) into precise technical criteria and ensure that resultant requirements are met by aircraft before they are permitted to fly.
In addition to helping to ensure a uniform and high level of aviation safety, the Agency will also help to boost the competitiveness of the aviation industry, by promoting efficient regulatory and certification processes which should lower compliance costs for airlines, manufacturers, service organisations and others in the sector.