CIVIL AVIATION (AIR OPERATORS’ CERTIFICATES) ACT *

CHAPTER 218

CIVIL AVIATION (AIR OPERATORS’ CERTIFICATES) ACT *

To provide for the issue, variation, suspension and revocation of air operator’s certificates

to companies operating aircraft for the purpose of public transport.

14th July, 1970

ACT XXI of 1970, as amended by Act LVIII of 1974; Legal Notice 148 of 1975; Acts XIII of

1983, X of 1993 and VIII of 2002; and Legal Notice 411 of 2007.

The short title of this Act is the Civil Aviation (Air

Operators’ Certificates) Act.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"air transport undertaking" means an undertaking whose business

includes the carriage by air of passengers or cargo for hire or

reward;

"association of persons" means a company, partnership or any

other body or persons, whether vested with legal personality or not;

"Board" means the Aviation Safety Board established by article

9;

"cargo" includes mail and animals;

"certificate" means an air operator’s certificate granted under

article 4;

"crew" means every person employed or engaged in an aircraft in

flight on the business of the aircraft;

"Director" means the Director of Civil Aviation and includes any

person deputed by him in writing;

"dry lease agreement" means an agreement whereby an aircraft is

leased without crew by its registered owner to another person;

"foreign air transport undertaking" means an undertaking whose

business includes the carriage by air of passengers or cargo for

payment or reward and whose principal place of business is outside

Malta;

"holder", in relation to a certificate, includes the holder of a

certificate which has been revoked or suspended;

"maximum total weight authorized" in relation to an aircraft

means the maximum total weight of the aircraft and its contents at

which the aircraft may take off anywhere in the world, in the most

favourable circumstances in accordance with the certificate of

airworthiness in force in respect of the aircraft;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for aviation;

"operator", in relation to an aircraft, means the person for the

time being having the business management of that aircraft, and

cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

"person" includes an association of persons;

"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations made under this

Act;

"reward", in relation to any flight by an aircraft, includes any

form of consideration received or to be received wholly or partly in

respect of or in connection with that flight, irrespective of the

person by or to whom the consideration has been or is to be given.

PART II

CERTIFICATION OF AIR OPERATORS

(1) An aircraft registered in Malta shall not fly on any

flight for the purpose of public transport, otherwise than under and

in accordance with the terms of a certificate granted to the operator

of the aircraft under article 4, certifying that the holder of the

certificate is competent to secure that aircraft operated by him on

such flights as that in question are operated safely.

(2) (a) An aircraft in flight shall for the purposes of this Act

be deemed to fly for the purpose of public transport -

(i)

if hire or reward is given or promised for the

carriage of passengers or cargo in the aircraft on

that flight; or

(ii) if any passengers or cargo are carried

gratuitously in the aircraft on that flight by an air

transport undertaking, not being persons in the

employment of the undertaking (including, in

the case of an association of persons, its

directors), persons with the authority of the

Director either making an inspection or

witnessing any training, practice or test for any

purpose whatsoever, or cargo intended to be

used by any such passengers as aforesaid, or by

the undertaking.

(b) Where under a transaction effected by or on behalf of a

person on the one hand and an association of persons

or any member thereof on the other hand, a person is

carried in, or is given the right to fly, an aircraft in

such circumstances that hire or reward would be

deemed to be given or promised if the transaction were

effected otherwise than as aforesaid, hire or reward

shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be

given.

(3) An aircraft shall be deemed to be in flight from the moment

when, after the embarkation of its crew for the purpose of taking of,

it first moves under its own power, until the moment when it next

comes to rest after landing.

(1) The Director shall grant to any person applying

therefor an air operator ’s certificate if he is satisfied that that

person is competent, having regard in particular to his previous

conduct and experience, his equipment, organization, staffing,

maintenance and other arrangements, to secure the safe operation

of aircraft of the types specified in the certificate on flights of the

description and for the purpose so specified. In assessing a person’s

competency to operate aircraft, the Director will take into account

that person’s capability of meeting the relative safety requirements

applicable, according to law, to his operation of aircraft. The

certificate may be granted subject to such conditions as the

Director thinks fit, and subject to the provisions of article 5, shall

remain in force for a period of one year

Provided that, in considering the conduct and experience of

such person, the Director may take into account the conduct and

experience of his staff.

(2) For the purposes of this article, the person applying for an

a i r o p e r a t o r ’s c e r t i f i c a t e s h a l l p r o v i d e f u l l a c c e s s t o a n y

documentation, records, equipment, aircraft and facilities which the

Director may wish to inspect or examine.

Subject to the provisions of article 6, the Director may, if

he thinks fit, suspend or revoke any certificate, and may vary any

such certificate whether or not application has been made for the

variation.

The Director shall not suspend, revoke or vary any air

operator’s certificate, except in accordance with an application

made by the holder thereof, unless -

(a) the Director has previously served on the holder of the

certificate not less than thirty days before the date on

which the Director proposes to suspend, revoke or

vary the certificate, as the case may be, a written

notice containing concise particulars of the Director’s

proposal and the reasons for it;

(b) the above term of the notice has expired; and

(c) the Director has considered any representations which

the holder of the certificate may have made to him in

writing before the expiration of the said term

Provided that the foregoing requirements of this article

need not be complied with in any case in which the Director

certifies that in the interests of the safety of air navigation it is

essential for the revocation, suspension or variation of the

certificate to take effect immediately.

(1) The Director shall serve the applicant for or holder of

the certificate (as the case may be) with written notice of his

decision as to that certificate and shall within the period of twenty-

one days furnish the applicant for or holder of the certificate with

reasons in writing for his decision -

(a) if he refuses to grant the certificate, or grants it subject

to a condition to which the applicant has not agreed; or

(b) if he suspends, revokes or varies the certificate

otherwise than in accordance with an application by

the holder.

(2) The period of twenty-one days referred to in subarticle (1)

shall begin on the day on which the Director serves notice of his

decision on the applicant for or holder of the certificate, as the case

may be.

(1) Any applicant for or holder of an operator’s certificate

who is aggrieved by a decision of the Director as to that application

or certificate may, within such period and in such manner as may be

prescribed, appeal to the Board.

(2) Such appeal shall not suspend the execution of the

Director’s decision if it is a decision falling under article 7(1)(a) or

if it is a decision concerning any matter in regard to which the

Director has made a certificate for the purpose of the proviso to

article 6.

(1) There shall be established a board, to be styled the

Aviation Safety Board, which shall be composed of a lawyer with

twelve years’ experience, as chairman, sitting with two technical

assessors.

(2) The chairman and technical assessors of the Board shall be

appointed by the Prime Minister from year to year

Provided that the Prime Minister may confirm any

appointment from year to year and he may direct, on making any

new appointment, that the outgoing chairman or assessor may

continue to sit on the Board in respect of any matter whereof he has

already taken cognizance before the termination of his appointment

until such matter is disposed of.

(3) The Prime Minister may also make any necessary

appointments for the purpose of surrogating the chairman or any

assessor of the Board in the event of his being, for any reason,

unable to carry out his functions with respect to any particular case

or cases.

(4) The chairman or any assessor of the Board shall not be

competent to take cognizance of and deal with any matter in which

he has a direct or an indirect interest.

(5) The technical assessors of the Board shall, before entering

upon their office, take before the Attorney General the oath to

e x a m i n e a n d d e c i d e an y m at t e r r e f e r r e d t o t h e m u n d e r t h e

provisions of this Act with equity and impartiality.

(6) The chairman of the Board shall have, for the purpose of

collecting the evidence and establishing the facts relating to any

matter before the Board, all such powers as are by the Code of

Organization and Civil Procedure vested in the Civil Court, First

Hall, for the like purpose in relation to any matter before it.

(7) The Board shall regulate its own procedure except in so far

as such procedure is governed by regulations made under article 11.

(8) The Prime Minister shall appoint a public officer to act as

secretary to the Board.

(1) Where an aircraft is flown in contravention of article

3(1), whenever it may be, the operator of that aircraft and the

member of the flight crew designated as commander of that aircraft

by the operator thereof or, failing such person, the person who is

for the time being the pilot in command of the aircraft shall be

guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine

(multa) not exceeding four hundred and sixty-five euro and eighty-

seven cents (465.87) or to imprisonment for a term of six months or

to both such fine and imprisonment.

(2) Where an aircraft is flown under a suspended certificate, it

shall be deemed for the purpose of the last preceding sub-article to

be flown in contravention of article 3(1).

(3) Where the operator of the aircraft is an association of

persons and an offence under the foregoing provisions of this

article is committed by such association, every person who, at the

time of the offence, was a director, manager, secretary or other

similar officer of such association of persons or was purporting to

act in such capacity shall be guilty of that offence unless he proves

that the offence was committed without his knowledge and that he

exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the

offence.

The Minister may, from time to time, make and, when

made, alter or revoke regulations generally for giving effect to any

of the purposes of this Act and particularly for making provision as

to the giving of notice of appeal, the liability of any of the parties

in respect of the expenses incurred in connection therewith, for the

procedure relating to appeals and to prescribe anything that is to be

prescribed.

The provisions of this Act shall not apply to a foreign air

transport undertaking which operates a Maltese-registered aircraft

through a dry lease agreement provided that the Director is

satisfied that during this period of dry lease the foreign air

transport undertaking is competent to ensure the safe operation of

the aircraft.

PART III

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

The Director shall levy such fees for the issue of

certificates as may be prescribed.

For the purposes of this Act, a document may be served by

the Director on a person either personally or by being sent by

registered post to his last known business or private address, and

shall in the latter case unless the contrary is proved be deemed to

have been served not later than the third day succeeding the day

when posted, and in proving such service it shall be sufficient to

prove that the letter containing the document was properly

addressed and posted.