European Policy Focus - ERA · European Policy Focus Fifth Edition, January 2016 ... discussed,...

European Policy Focus

Fifth Edition, January 2016 www.eraa.org

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External relations and raising the profile of the association and its members

ERA‟s policy and technical department will run a comprehensive lobbying strategy in Brussels in 2016 in order to raise the profile of the association and to input into the legislative proposals planned and underway. The strategy includes regular proactive contact with the following institutions:

The European Parliament, MEPs and member states. European Commission DG COMP (Competition Directorate),

European Commission DG MOVE (Transport Directorate);

European Commission DG CLIMA (Climate Change Directorate);

European Economic and Social Committee & Committee of the Regions; and

Airport Regions Conference (ARC), and

European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The directorate has held a number of liaison meetings since the last board meeting with:

Marita Lintener, Liaison Officer Civil Airspace Users, SESAR Deployment Manager;

Florian Guillermet, Executive Director, SESAR Joint Undertaking;

Léa Bodossian, Secretary General at the Airport Regions Conference (ARC);

Michael Gill, Director Aviation Environment at IATA;

Istvan Ujhelyi, Member of the European Parliament, Vice-Chair of the TRAN Committee;

Richard Ossendorp, Counsellor for Transport, Permanent Representation to the European Union of the Kingdom of the Netherlands;

Pekka Hietanen, Policy officer, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission (Unit E4 Internal market and Airports – PSO routes);

Jean-Jacques Woeldgen, Policy Officer, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, Aviation and International Transport Affairs, Aviation Safety Unit, European Commission;

Donagh Cagney, Manager Economics, ACI-Europe;

Ismael Aznar Cano, Directorate-General for Climate Action, Unit B.3, International Carbon Market, Aviation and Maritime, European Commission;

Andrew Watt, Head of Unit - Support to SES-related Policies (DPS/POL), Directorate Pan-European Single Sky, EUROCONTROL;

Andrea Neuschlová, Transport Attaché, Permanent Representation of the Slovak Republick to the European Union;

Bart L.M. van Bolhuis, Director of International Affairs, Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment; and

Ludmilla Vodzinská, Director General, Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of the Slovak Republic, Section for European and Foreign Affairs

Patrick Ky, Executive Director EASA. ERA Group activities


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ERA‟s Groups continue to be the main working link between the ERA directorate and our membership and help drive the activities of the association. Since the last edition of the Policy Focus the following meetings have taken place or are planned:

Industry Affairs Group, 19/20 November 2015, Brussels;

Legal Network conference call, 24 November 2015;

Air Safety Group, 01/02 December 2015, Stansted, UK;

Legal Network conference call, planned Q1 (2016);

ERA Insurance Services for members meeting, planned 26 Jan 2016;

Air Safety Group meeting planned for 15/16 March 2016; and

Chief Financial Officers‟ Group, planned Q2 2016.

ERA‟s Groups have had an intensive schedule of activities throughout 2015 and a year-end summary of activities is now available. The Groups‟ objectives are summarised in each individual report which give an overview of all the topics addressed. A copy of the reports can be downloaded from the Groups‟ web pages here. There is a planned programme of individual Group meetings in 2016 of between two and three meetings per group across the year. CFO Group activities on finance

Following the last board meeting ERA has

been contacted by the Vice President of the Transport Department at the European Investment Bank, Pim van Ballekom to inform us that the recent lobbying efforts we have made to have regional aircraft financing opportunities through the bank have been acknowledged and that we have raised a number of interesting issues, not least that regional aviation is being held back by a lack of accessible or suitable financing solutions across Europe. Mr van Ballekom goes on to advise that he has requested the Bank‟s services to make arrangements to further discuss this specific financing issue in a technical session. We are anticipating an opportunity to meet representatives from the EIB in early 2016. CFO Group activities on insurance An on-going project of the CFO Group has been to source interest in providing insurance services for members in some form and since the last board meeting this has gained traction. Three member airlines and three insurance service providers will meet with the Directorate and Sean Gates on 26 January in London to further discuss the possible options for insurance provision and also the areas of interest from member airlines. The main objective of this meeting will be to determine how best to help the airlines decide how they wish to proceed in terms of services provided and the organisation of such an insurance collective. ERA Legal Network activities

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Representatives of ERA‟s Legal Network participated in a conference call on 24 November 2015. A number of subjects were discussed, with airline member Hahn Air raising several issues relating to employment law. Such issues included the requirement for certain organisations to open additional offices in various EU member states with regards to the registration of funds, and where employees are bound by the employment law in the state they are employed (which may differ from the law in their employer‟s state). During the call ERA legal member Sherrards agreed to prepare a document addressing the above (and other) employment law issues from a UK perspective, which could then be circulated amongst ERA airline members The issue of freelance pilots was discussed, with the issue of pilots being paid only when they fly, and what laws are in place with regards pilot freelancing and their employment protection. The network will organise another conference call in Q1 2016. Inter-association activities The ERA directorate continues to work closely with AEA, EBAA, ELFAA, IATA and IACA. Two standing coordination committees meet approximately every two months to coordinate actions on environmental issues (the CEFA group, which ERA currently chairs, is going to meet in Brussels in February 2016 – date TBC) and infrastructure issues. More informal catch-up meetings take place in Brussels on a monthly basis. The directorate has recently collaborated in producing joint association position paper regarding the EASA Opinion on extending the Agency‟s Basic Regulation and on the provision and exchange of information for flights over conflict zones. Cooperation among the airline and airport

associations was also demonstrated in the responses to the European Commission‟s consultation questionnaires respectively on the “Mid-Term Revision to the 2011 White Paper on Transport” and on the “EU Aviation Package - Strategy”. A joint press release - co-signed by AEA, EBAA, ELFAA, ERA, and IACA – was issued on 7 December. Inter-Associations meetings took place in October and November to coordinate the next industry actions in the revision process of EU Regulation 261/2004, of the Directive on EU PNR, on state aid and with regards to the on-going ICAO negotiations on a global market-based scheme to tackle CO2 emissions from aviation. The directorate has acted as co-coordinator, with IATA, of a consolidated Air Traffic Management Masterplan 2015 comment response document which has been presented by ERA‟s DG to the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) Administrative Board. Following the announcement by Air France/KLM, Easyjet, IAG, Lufthansa Group and Ryanair of their intention to form a new lobbying entity in October, the directorate has been monitoring developments closely and a separate verbal report will be given at the board meeting.

European Commission Strategy for Aviation


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Recent developments: In early 2015, the Commission launched a public consultation to gather stakeholders' views on the EU aviation sector and to identify challenges, opportunities and possible measures to improve the competitiveness of the EU aviation sector. The directorate informed members about the consultation stages and submitted a response to the online questionnaire which can be found here. The findings of this consultation, as well as the findings from those earlier consultation activities, fed into an Aviation Strategy (“An Aviation Strategy for Europe”) that was published on 7 December 2015 on the European Commission‟s (EC) website here. ERA co-signed a joint press release in response to the strategy which can be found here. ERA also undertook a more detailed initial analysis for the purpose of briefing the media which can be found here. In summary while the strategy talks very positively about the value of aviation, many of the actions proposed are short term, have no distinct timelines for achievement and do not provide a strong and clear action plan in order to strengthen Europe‟s aviation industry. What we are planning By the end of January 2016, ERA will publish a detailed position paper on the EC‟s strategy. The document, together with ERA‟s own vision document (“The future of regional aviation”), will form the basis for ERA‟s position during the lobbying initiatives throughout 2016 and can be found here. Timescales It is expected that the EC will start implementing some of its proposals for action (eg, proposed legislation to amend EASA‟s Basic Regulation; Guidelines on Air Passenger Rights legislation; Guidelines on PSO

legislation, etc.) by the end of Q1 2016. Industry affairs issues Air passenger rights

Current position On 13 March 2013 the European Commission published its proposal to revise EU 261/2004 (originally expected by the end of 2012) and a major work exercise has continuously been undertaken since, with regular reports to the board. ERA‟s full position on air passenger rights can be found here. Recent developments Following the “van der Lans v KLM” case (17 September 2015) the European Commission announced its intention to publish interpretative guidelines to ensure a strict application by the National Enforcement Bodies of the EU air passenger rights together with the judgements of the Court of Justice of the European Union ERA attended two meetings in the last quarter of 2015 with the AEA, ELFAA, IACA and IATA to coordinate the next lobbying initiatives on some of the controversial and open issues regarding the revision process of EU Regulation 261/2004, namely, delay threshold levels triggering financial compensation; obligations in case of missed connections; definition of extraordinary circumstances. ERA co-signed a joint industry statement addressed to the Committee of Permanent

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http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/aviation-strategy/index_en.htm

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http://www.eraa.org/publications/studies

http://www.eraa.org/policy/passenger-rights/passenger-rights


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Representatives of member states to the EU and their transport attachés, where airlines under the scope of EC Regulation 261/2004 urged the EU Council to resume discussions on the revision of that Regulation as soon as the Gibraltar dispute is resolved. The industry also suggested that interpretative guidelines of the current Regulation are not a timely exercise at this late stage of the revision since they would only contribute to stalling a situation that will change when the law changes. The Luxembourg Presidency of the EU (July-December 2015) was unable to broker an agreement to adopt the new regulation, due to the UK/Spain diplomatic dispute over Gibraltar, which continues to block progress. No informal agreement is expected in the next months and the incoming Dutch Presidency of the EU (January-June 2016) seems reluctant to take any major initiative to help developments in the negotiations within the EU Council. A summary of the major outstanding and open issues is included below: Thresholds for compensation Under the current Regulation, as interpreted by the European Court of Justice, a passenger has a right to compensation after a delay at arrival at the final destination of more than three hours (except for extraordinary circumstances). The Commission proposed to increase this threshold to five hours for most journeys, and to nine or 12 hours for extra-EU journeys of respectively more than 3,500 or 6,000 km. The Presidency text introduces a difference in the time thresholds for cancellation and delays. The discussions on this issue have been intense. Member States consider that it is essential to protect passengers against abusive cancellations. The most recent Latvian Presidency compromise text provides that a passenger who has been rerouted after a

cancelled flight has the right to request compensation for arriving late at a destination if the delay at arrival is more than three hours, regardless of the length of the journey. However, regarding delays, many member states consider that different time thresholds corresponding to different journey lengths would be more appropriate and support the three thresholds of five, nien and 12 hours proposed by the Commission, with an adjustment of the distance brackets. Others would prefer a flat five-hour threshold regardless of distance. Another group of delegations support lowering the thresholds to three, five and seen (or nine) hours. As a compromise, and with a view to align the lowest threshold to the three hours required in case of cancellations, the Presidency compromise text introduces a fourth category, such that for journeys of less than 1,500 km, the compensation is EUR125 for delays of three to five hours, and EUR250 for delays of over five hours. The nine- and 12-hour thresholds proposed for medium- and long-haul journeys remain unchanged. Compensation for connecting flights Under the current Regulation, as interpreted by the European Court of Justice, compensation is due when the passenger suffers a delay of more than three hours at the final destination, including the case where this delay is caused by a missed connection; the delay of the initial flight that caused the passenger to miss the connection is irrelevant, only the delay at the final destination is considered for the purpose of compensation. The Commission did not propose a direct change to this measure; however, the Commission proposal aims to clarify the issue indirectly, while softening the impact on the airlines by increasing the threshold at the final destination from three hours to five/nine/12 hours. The Presidency compromise provides a partial exemption to airlines from paying


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compensation, if the connecting time was relatively short (90 minutes in the current text), and the passenger who purchased the connecting ticket was aware that a short delay of the feeder flight could result in missing the connection. If, however, the originally planned transfer time was more than 90 minutes, the passenger shall receive compensation if his connecting flight is missed due to a delay of the feeder flight. However, this compromise proposal cannot be accepted by a number of states which maintain their concerns on the effect of any explicit provision on compensations for connecting flights to regional connectivity and existing arrangements between airlines. These delegations consider that any proposals for compensations for missed connecting flights would be counter-productive and that the focus should be instead on ensuring adequate care and assistance to passengers and on encouraging airline behaviour which would ultimately assist the passenger in getting to his or her final destination. They argue that focusing on compensations may result in adverse airline behaviour (increased fares, longer transfer times) which would not be in passengers' interest, especially as regards to passengers who depend on regional connectivity. They propose the complete deletion of compensation for connecting flights, and consider that such amounts should be paid on the basis of each individual leg of the flight and of the corresponding delay suffered. Therefore, in order to reflect the divergent views on this issue, the Presidency has decided more reflection is necessary in order to find a compromise on this difficult issue. In a separate development, ERA has also presented an independent paper to the Executive Director of EASA, drafted by a member expert safety training company and an aviation legal expert, making the case that the „extraordinary circumstances‟ for technical rectification of safety critical defects in current

consumer legislation is in direct contradiction to existing safety legislation required to maintain continued airworthiness. EASA has yet to formally respond. What we are planning The revision process of EU Regulation 261/2004 on air passenger rights is far from complete. Following final adoption of the Parliament position, the EU member states (Council) must then agree their own position before the final law is adopted. The Netherlands took over the EU Presidency on 1 January 2016 and ERA will intensify its lobbying efforts to make sure that Air Passenger Rights legislation is on top of the Dutch agenda. Timescales Negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council may resume in early 2015 with a view to adoption of the regulation by the end of 2016. EU PNR Directive

Current position: Air passenger data, including advance passenger information (API), which refers to a passenger‟s identity and nationality typically obtained from travel documents such as passports; and passenger name records (PNR), which are collected by airlines. PNRs normally contain different types of information, such as travel dates, travel itinerary, ticket


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information, contact details, travel agent at which the flight was booked, type of payment used, seat number and baggage information. The data is stored in the airlines' reservation and departure control system. In February 2011 the European Commission published a legislative proposal for an EU PNR Directive as part of the wider agenda to better protect European citizens against security threats, such as terrorism or serious crime. A copy of the proposal can be found here. Recent developments: The recent terrorist attacks in Paris had a dramatic impact on the EU agenda which resulted in acceleration to the negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council on the adoption of a new Directive on PNR data. The provisional compromise, reached on 4 December 2015, on an “EU directive regulating the use of passenger name record (PNR) data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime”, will be voted by the European Parliament early in 2016 and amendments are not possible at this stage of the law-making process. Some of the key contents of the text include:

Flights included in the scope: The agreed Directive will impose that member states request (and airlines to transmit) EU PNR data of passengers on "extra-EU flights" (ie, from a third country to an EU member state or vice-versa). However, it will only allow, but not oblige, states to apply its provisions also to "intra-EU flights" (ie, from an EU member state to one or more of the other), which seems a relatively more acceptable solution to ERA. In case a member state intends to extend the scope of the directive to intra-EU flights, it must give notice in writing to the Commission to that effect.

Non-carrier economic operators:

such as travel agencies and tour operators which provide travel-related services including booking flights, for which they collect and process PNR data, are not included in the directive‟s scope. However, the new legislation allows member states to provide, under their domestic law, for a system of collection and processing of PNR data from these operators. The compromise is reasonably in line with ERA‟s position.

Compliance with international standards: As requested by ERA and the industry, the new Directive confirms that ICAO guidelines should be the basis for adopting data formats and transfer protocols. Articles 13 and 14 clarify that the list of accepted common protocols and supported data formats will be drawn up by the Commission through an implementation act. This implies that member states will not be free to unilaterally develop their own protocols and formats as they will have to follow those defined at the EU level. This will hopefully contribute to harmonisation of the requirements across Europe.

Obligations on air carriers on transfer of data: When API data is collected (and only then), they will also be transmitted by the airlines as part of the PNR message. Airlines should be required to transmit only PNR data that is already collected in the normal course of their business.

Sanctions: reference to the possibility of suspending operating licenses or seizing aircraft due to non-compliance has been removed.

Costs: States should bear the costs of use, retention and exchange of PNR data, which is positive news to ERA members and in line with our lobbying position.

Review clause:

At the European Parliament‟s request, the agreed text requires the Commission to carry out a review of the EU PNR directive two years after its transposition into

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national laws. It must pay special attention to compliance with personal data protection standards, the necessity and proportionality of collecting and processing PNR data for each of the stated purposes, the length of the data retention period, and also "the effectiveness of the sharing of data between the member states". The necessity of introducing non-carrier economic operators within the scope of the directive should also be looked at during the review process, says the agreed text.

Although the text has tempered some of the more extreme original proposals, the additional administrative burden may require IT modifications on the airlines‟ systems and, ultimately, add costs to ERA members. The issue was discussed at the last ERA Industry Affairs Group meeting (Brussels, 19-20 November) and members agreed that they would consider the possibility of joining forces in a collective platform aimed at increasing volumes and keeping costs for any IT system-related modifications as low as possible. What we are planning ERA has started assessing the potential consequences of the proposed compromise text on its members and is working closely with IATA and the other airline associations in order to join forces in the lobbying initiatives aimed at redressing some of the potentially detrimental provisos of the draft directive. Timescales The draft text of the directive will be voted on by the European Parliament (in plenary session) in January 2016 and then formally approved by the EU Council of Ministers. Publication in the Official Journal is expected by the end of Q1 2016, after which member states will have to transpose the new EU PNR directive into their national laws at the latest two years after its entry into force.

Environmental issues

EU Emissions Trading Scheme Developments (EU ETS) Current position On 30 April 2014 the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) Regulation was published and is now fully in force in Europe. Regulation No 421/2014 amended the geographic scope of the scheme. Specifically, the regulation exempts operators from the obligation of submitting verified reports and having to surrender allowances for flights to and from non-EEA airports (EU 28 member states plus Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway) for emissions produced in years 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Recent developments With the adoption of EU ETS legislation, attention is now focused on the on-going discussions at ICAO level to find an international agreement on a global market- based mechanism (MBM) by 2016 that may, in principle, supersede the European scheme. In parallel, international negotiations took place in Paris in December 2015 during the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC - COP21). During the event, environmental NGOs unsuccessfully mounted a strong campaign to make international aviation emissions part of the Paris Agreement. ERA has been following the developments of the negotiations and will assess the actual outcome during the next


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meeting of the Council for Environmentally Friendly Aviation (CEFA), which will be also attended by a representative of the Directorate-General for Climate Action of the European Commission. What we are planning Through CEFA, ERA is following the developments at ICAO and UN level and is working closely with IATA to defend the interests of ERA members. The next CEFA meeting, chaired by ERA and including AEA, EBAA, ELFAA and IACA is going to convene in Brussels in February 2016. Timescales Agreement at ICAO level is not expected until later in 2016, at the earliest. Italian regional tax on aircraft noise Current position Following a decision in 2012 by the Italian Court of Accounts, some Italian regions (Lombardia, Lazio and Emilia Romagna) have adopted (or are about to implement) a new tax on aircraft noise named Imposta Regionale sulle Emissioni Sonore degli Aeromobili (IRESA). It is up to each region to decide on the specific tax level and amount, to be set within a range of values and parameters deliberated by the conference of the regions last December. Developments were reported in detail at the last board meeting. Recent developments Following constant pressure by the industry (ERA included) and Court proceedings coordinated by the Italian Board of Airline Representatives, on 29 July the regional authorities of Lazio have amended the IRESA legislation and reduced the tax rate in accordance with the 2014 national decree‟s cap. This means that the overall annual cost to airlines will be reduced from EUR55m to EUR13.5m. Although Lazio regional authorities have started working on the design mechanisms to refund the amount of tax in excess, they are also expected to start collecting the amount due for 2013. The

authorities of Campania Region (Naples) have issued the first invoices to collect IRESA for 2013 and 2014. There are also indications that municipalities in Regione Lombardia (Milan) are calling for the re-introduction of the tax in the region. ERA continues to work with IATA to maintain the pressure on the Italian and Regional Governments against IRESA and is recommending that airlines continue to pay under only protest. The recent appointment of a new Minister for Infrastructure and Transport might provide a good opportunity to oppose the tax at the Ministry level again. What we are planning The directorate continues to proactively lobby against the adoption of any further distortive and punitive tax on aviation and will provide its contribution to Assaereo, IBAR, and IATA. CEFA will reaffirm the industry‟s position to demonstrate the negative impact of the tax. Timescales CEFA will discuss this issue at the next meeting, scheduled in Brussels in February 2016 (date TBC), and will provide board members with any further updates. Norwegian tax on aircraft noise

Recent developments The Norwegian Government recently announced that an air transport tax equivalent to NOK80 per departing passenger on both domestic and international flights will be


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adopted and effective as of 1 April 2016. According to the initial information received, the tax will be subject to Norwegian VAT for domestic flights. It is worth emphasising that no industry consultation process has been undertaken by the Government before the announcement of this new tax. According to the estimates received so far, between 2014 and 2016 Norway‟s domestic air operators will face a total rise of over 50 per cent on aviation-related taxes. What we are planning ERA continues to work with IATA and the other European airline associations, also through the Council for Environmentally Friendly Aviation (CEFA), to maintain pressure on the Norwegian Government to reconsider or repeal the tax. Timescales ERA will raise this issue at the next CEFA meeting, scheduled in Brussels in February 2016, and will provide board members with any further updates. Technical issues SESAR deployment planning 2014-2020 for regional operators

Current position The SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM), the body tasked with ensuring a smooth and coordinated deployment of SESAR technology, has spent the past months preparing for the presentation of the first phase

of the SESAR Deployment Programme to the European Commission. Recent developments In accordance with its remit from the Commission, the SDM has created a stakeholder consultation platform comprised of separate groups for each category of stakeholder. ERA has been successfully nominated to the airspace user group and has actively participated in the consultation process from the start of the process in April 2015, as a member of both the plenary, group and thematic sub-group meetings. In addition to the guiding of the Deployment Plan DP2015, the consultation platform offers additional opportunities to monitor possibilities with respect to CEF funding through the INEA calls, the last of which was on 4 November 2015 and guide ERA‟s membership toward appropriate and realistic initiatives that may attract co-funding. What we are planning Continued engagement with the SDM at all levels, particularly with ERA‟s role in the SDM consultation framework through our membership of the 11-strong airspace user consultation platform. ERA will thoroughly evaluate potential projects for co-funding in preparation of the 2015 INEA Call for CEF initiatives, however, the directorate would like the board to recognise that funding can only be applied for by operational stakeholders and that, although we will continue to promote the SESAR Deployment Manager‟s request for expressions of interest and later, bids, it is for the airline and airport members themselves to make the application. The directorate will continue to participate in our role on the Deployment Manager Consultation Platform throughout 2016, and will appraise members of the most suitable and realistic co-funding opportunities available based on the outcome of the 2015 call. Review of EASA basic regulation Current position In May 2014 the European Aviation Safety


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Agency (EASA) issued an advanced notice of proposed amendment (A-NPA) to update and improve regulation (EC) No 216/2008 (the EASA basic regulation) in order to make it best respond to changes to the aviation environment and subsequent challenges to its safety. This initiative is based on a variety of established high-level policies and technical deliberations that took place over the last years and identified current issues and possible areas of improvement. Consequently, it remained at a high generic policy level and refrained from addressing technical or legal details which will be dealt with at a later procedural stage, if necessary. Focussing on these objectives, the A-NPA addressed seven different areas of potential change in order to increase the effectiveness of the European aviation system:

a performance-based and integrated approach to safety;

modernising and updating EASA‟s safety remit;

extending EASA‟s remit beyond safety;

optimising the use of available resources;

ensuring an adequate and stable funding for EASA;

further integration of aviation aspects; and

aviation regulation beyond the EASA‟s current legal competency.

Recent developments The EASA Opinion in response to the A-NPA was published on in March and has been considered by the EC and EP over the summer and was included in the EC policy strategy that was issued in December. DGMOVE is now considering the most appropriate ways to update the EASA Basic Regulation in order to make it best respond to changes in the aviation environment and subsequent challenges to safety. The directorate evaluated the opinion and has compiled a response that addresses each of

the four main topics; safety, security, operational and environmental. The response can be located on the ERA website here. ERA has also contributed to a joint association paper that will be used to lobby the Commission once details of future regulatory actions published Timescales The directorate‟s response has been discussed by members at ERA‟s industry affairs, safety and operations groups and we are awaiting the publication of proposed amendments to EASA‟s Basic Regulation. Security developments

Current position The European Commission has enabled implementing legislation to consider „small amendments‟ to existing legislation, without having to go through the full process of introducing new regulations and recent amendments have been published. ERA member airlines and airports are advised to contact their security control authority to ensure compliance. Recent developments Aviation security is likely to remain a high priority focus in 2016 due to recent incidents and attacks



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Paris attacks At the last European Commission (EC) security meeting for 2015, France presented a short debrief of the events, highlighting that no specific additional aviation security measures have been taken. Patrols have been increased at airports, as for other public transportation modes. France, however, stressed that the local prefects in charge of the airports can decide to reintroduce ID checks at the gate or impose additional measures as they see fit. A vote is expected in early January by the European Council of Ministers regarding EU PNR requirements – see report above. Metrojet incident The EC had also asked the industry for feedback on their action and comments following the Metrojet incident in Egypt. Airlines feedback received as follows:

Airlines have already applied additional measures on the basis of their risk assessment, in cooperation with their national authorities.

The main difficulty was to get the Egyptian authorities to approve the implementation of additional measures by the airlines directly. Airlines are therefore asking for the MS and EC to ensure that Egyptian authorities allow airlines to implement additional measures as they see fit.

Airlines do not support a ban on Egyptian airports, since this would only transfer the problem. Airlines are actually more worried now about the other airports in the region and understanding whether a similar scenario could happen at other airports.

One additional main feedback is that the EU should cooperate with TSA to evaluate whether joint security measures could be implemented at the airports of concern.

Some airlines shared some concerns regarding the ability to get explosives trace detectors (ETD) deployed rapidly. Some had already ordered ETD for cargo before the events, but supply from manufacturers is slow. Industry is asking the Commission to take this into consideration in the timing

for imposing possible red-list measures. Also, some authorities are helping airlines to purchase ETD equipment.

The EC indicated that for the moment there will be no decision on coordinated additional measures at EU level. Each member state remains free to impose the measures it sees fit on the flight bound to its territory. The EU will continue monitoring the situation and advise whether any further action is considered. EASA has proposed amending its basic regulation to include responsibility for cyber issues for the future design of aircraft systems and for assessment of threats from maintenance software deployed on aircraft. It has also urged the reporting of any suspected cyber-attacks on aviation and will be constructing a database of events. As part of continued airworthiness requirements it is likely EASA will take regulatory action to ensure operators have published contingency plans to deal with cyber-attacks. What we have done The Directorate has worked with the other airspace user organisations to respond to an EU consultation on the provision of threat information to carriers following a specific threat to aviation. ERA has also recommended the establishment of a working group in order provide guidance to operators overflying or with a destination in a conflict zone. IATA have included guidance material on their website for member states and EASA has issued Safety Information Bulletins regarding state AICs that were issued after the Metrojet incident. The Directorate remains actively involved in aviation security matters with SAGAS, the EU‟s (Stakeholder Advisory Group on Aviation Security) and ECAC‟s security working group and has been invited to participate at the ECAC Guidance Material Task Force in 2016.


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Air safety issues

Current position The focus of ERA‟s air safety activities is through the Air Safety Group (ASG). The Directorate will hold three dedicated meetings in 2016 and will additionally hold a joint safety event with Eurocontrol and the Flight Safety Foundation in June 2016. It is also supporting a cabin safety event in June, details can be found here. Recent developments In Europe the European Commission and EASA are progressing a review of Regulation 965/2012 regarding changes to requirements in flight data recording and flight tracking and looking to develop multi layered „concepts of operations‟ for aircraft tracking in normal and abnormal operations, autonomous distress tracking and automatic deployable flight recorders. On 16 December the European Commission adopted new rules for flight recorders, underwater locating devices and aircraft tracking systems, the new rules will improve the tracking of European aircraft and the location of an aircraft in distress anywhere in the world. In case of an accident over water, they will also allow for a quick localisation of the wreckage and a swift recovery of the data contained in the flight recorders. All these new rules will be implemented gradually, and in particular the implementation material will be

published by the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA). Developments in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will also be taken into account in order to avoid any overlaps. Currently, new requirements are envisaged to be applicable to all aircraft over 27,000kgs and operating oceanic or trans-oceanic flights so will have a limited impact on ERA members. Following the Germanwings crash EASA was tasked by the European Commissioner to establish a task force to look into the accident including the findings of the French Civil Aviation Safety Investigation Authority (BEA) preliminary report. The task force comprised of several major carriers as well as selected regulators and other experts. It focussed on the number of qualified persons permitted in the flight deck, as well as medical and psychological evaluation of flight crews. As a result of its work, the task force delivered six recommendations within a report published in July 2015 which can be found here. What we have done The Directorate attended the EASA Aircrew Medical Workshop on 7-8 December in Cologne where the recommendations of the Germanwings task force were discussed in detail and EASA‟s proposed response to each recommendation was presented. The proposed introduction of drug and alcohol testing for aircrew, psychological screening of aircrew candidates and active pilots, and the creation of a European medical data repository would mark a significant change for aircrew medical licensing standards and we shall be following developments and lobbying the Agency in close consultation with members. What we are planning The next meeting of the ASG has been planned for 15-16 March 2016, with the host and venue to be confirmed in due course. The Directorate will continue to evaluate the EASA European aviation safety plan 2014-2017 in order to produce a „roadmap‟ for ERA

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http://easa.europa.eu/newsroom-and-events/news/report-task-force-germanwings-flight-9525-european-commission


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members of key issues and work areas that may affect their operation. ERA will continue to monitor and promulgate any revisions to aircraft tracking or data recording requirements, as well as any proposals for regulatory action following the Germanwings accident. The next meeting of the AEA De-Icing/Anti-Icing Work Group is being planned for early 2016, and the Directorate will canvass members for any issues that may wish to have raised during the meeting. Air and ground datalink equipage Current position A previously reported, Datalink Services (DLS) Implementing Rule Regulation (EC) No.29/2009 was amended on 26 Feb 2015, the most significant changes to the previous version being that the dates for DLS implementation have been delayed until 2018 and 2020 for ground and airborne equipage respectively. Recent developments The SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM) has now been mandated by the Commission to monitor the progress of the SJU and EASA with respect to DLS deployment. However, EASA has been tasked with producing a report expected to be published mid-2016 and describing a technical solution to issues concerning DLS reliability. ERA is concerned that this will not give members sufficient time to meet the implementation dates prescribed in the regulation. ERA, in association with the other members of the Airspace User Consultation Platform, seeks the SESAR DM to appoint a DLS implementation project manager to adopt a more proactive role in driving a Datalink solution. EASA advisory board developments The EASA Executive Director is looking to change how the Agency will interact and

receive guidance from industry. The proposal is to merge many of the existing groups; however, ERA and the other airspace associations have voiced their concerns that the new process will not be independent or transparent. ERA board and members will be kept advised of any changes to the formal consultation process - the aim is to keep a clear role for ERA in steering the work of EASA. Maintenance issues

Current position The ERA Maintenance Group is a virtual group that remains the primary contact between member experts and the Directorate in respect to policy and positions regarding maintenance issues. The Maintenance Group assists members of ERA in maintaining and improving the operational and cost efficiency of aircraft maintenance and component overhaul. Recent developments Looking to 2016, it remains the intention of the Directorate to continue with the conference call meetings of the group. It was agreed that a more definitive format/agenda for future meetings would be desirable.

European Policy Focus - ERA · European Policy Focus Fifth Edition, January 2016 ... discussed,...

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