Civil Aviation (Aerodrome Licensing) Regulations, 2004

Suppliment tal-Gazzetta tal-Gvern ta’ Malta, Nru. 17,541, 17 ta’ Frar, 2004

L.N. 80 of 2004

CIVIL AVIATION ACT

(CAP. 232)

Civil Aviation (Aerodrome Licensing) Regulations, 2004

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 3 of the Civil

Aviation Act, the Minister responsible for Transport and

Communications has made the following regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Civil Aviation Citation and

commencement.

(Aerodrome Licensing) Regulations, 2004.

(2) These regulations shall come into force on such date or

dates as the Minister responsible for Transport and Communications

may, by notice in the Gazette, appoint.

Doc 9774 First Edition entitled "Manual on Certification of Aerodromes".

Annex 14, Volume 1, entitled "Aerodrome Design and Operations", Edition

3, incorporating amendment 3 and subject to any differences notified to ICAO by

the Republic of Malta.

Annex 14, Volume II, entitled "Heliports" Edition 2, incorporating

Amendment 1, and subject to any differences notified to ICAO by the Republic of

Malta.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires - Interpretation.

"aerodrome" has the same meaning as is given by article 2 of the L.N. 176 of

1990. Air Navigation Order, 1990;

"aerodrome licence" means a licence issued to the operator of an

aerodrome by the Director under article 69 of the Air Navigation

Order, 1990, subsequent to the acceptance of the aerodrome manual;

"aerodrome facilities and equipment" means the facilities and

equipment, inside or outside the boundaries of an aerodrome, that are

constructed or installed and maintained for the arrival, departure and

surface movement of aircraft;

"aerodrome manual" means the manual that must be submitted

to the Director by an aerodrome operator pursuant to these

regulations, including any amendments thereto accepted by the

Director;

"aerodrome operator" means, in the relation to a licensed

aerodrome, the aerodrome licence holder;

"aeronautical information service" means a service established

within the defined area of coverage responsible for the provision of

aeronautical information and, or data necessary for the safety,

regularity and efficiency of air navigation;

"air traffic services" means variously, flight information service,

alerting service, air traffic advisory service, air traffic control service

(area control service, approach area service or aerodrome service);

"apron" has the same meaning as is given in the Thirteenth

Schedule to the Air Navigation Order, 1990;

"Director" means the Director of Civil Aviation and, to the

extent of the authority given, any person authorised in that behalf by

the Director;

"Doc 9774" means the document published by the International

Civil Aviation Organisation and whose specifications are found in the

Schedule to these regulations;

"ICAO" means the International Civil Aviation Organisation;

"licensed aerodrome" means an aerodrome whose operator has

been granted an aerodrome licence;

"manoeuvring area" has the same meaning as is given in the

Thirteenth Schedule to the Air Navigation Order, 1990;

"movement area" means that part of the aerodrome to be used

for the take-off, landing and taxiing of aircraft, consisting of the

manoeurving area and the apron(s);

"obstacle" means all fixed (whether temporary or permanent)

and mobile objects, or parts thereof, that are located on an area

intended for the surface movement of aircraft or that extend above a

defined surface intended to protect aircraft in flight;

"obstacle limitation surfaces" means a series of surfaces that

define the volume of airspace at and around an aerodrome to be kept

free of obstacles in order to permit the intended aeroplane operations

to be conducted safely and to prevent the aerodrome from becoming

unusable by the growth of obstacles around the aerodrome;

"safety management system" means a system for the

management of safety at aerodromes including organisational

structure, responsibilities, procedures, processes and provisions for

the implementation of aerodrome safety by an aerodrome operator,

which provides for the control of safety at, and the safe use of, the

aerodrome;

"standards and recommended practices" means the Standards

and Recommended Practices (SARPs) in Volume I and II of Annex

14 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation whose

specifications are found in the Schedule to these regulations.

(1) The applicant for an aerodrome licence shall have

submitted for acceptance to the Director an aerodrome manual and

amendments thereto as may be required from time to time. The

manual shall consist of five parts which shall contain the information

specified in Appendix 1 to ICAO Document 9774.

(2) The aerodrome manual shall -

(a)

be typewritten or printed, and signed by the

aerodrome operator;

(b)

be in a format that is easy to revise;

(c)

have a system for recording the currency of pages

and amendments thereto, including a page for logging revisions;

and

(d) be organised in a manner that will facilitate the

preparation, review and acceptance and, or approval process.

(3) The aerodrome operator shall provide the Director with a

complete and current copy of the accepted aerodrome manual.

(4) The aerodrome operator shall keep at least one complete

and current copy of the accepted aerodrome manual at the aerodrome

and one copy at the operator’s principal place of business, if other

than the aerodrome.

(5) The aerodrome operator shall make the copy referred to in

subregulation (4) available for inspection by persons authorised by

the Director.

(6) The operator of a licensed aerodrome shall amend the

aerodrome manual, whenever necessary, in order to maintain the

accuracy of the information in the manual. In any case he shall also

amend the aerodrome manual if the Director considers it to be so

necessary.

The operator of an aerodrome used for public transport Compliance

purposes shall comply with the Standards and Recommended with SARPs.

Practices of Volume 1 and Volume 2, Annex 14 to the Convention on

International Civil Aviation, except for differences filed by Malta,

and with national regulations, as well as with any conditions that are

specified in the aerodrome licence.

(1) The aerodrome operator shall employ an adequate Competence of

number of qualified and skilled personnel to perform all critical operational

maintenance

personnel.

activities for aerodrome operation and maintenance.

(2) If the Director or any other competent authority requires

competency certification for the personnel referred to in

subregulation (1), the aerodrome operator shall employ only those

persons possessing such certificates.

(3) The aerodrome operator shall implement a programme

to upgrade the competency of the personnel referred to in

subregulation (1).

(1) Subject to any directives that the Director may issue,

the aerodrome operator shall operate and maintain the aerodrome in

accordance with the procedures set out in the aerodrome manual.

(2) To ensure the safety of aircraft, the Director may give

written directives to an aerodrome operator to alter the procedures set

out in the aerodrome manual.

(3) The aerodrome operator should ensure proper and efficient

maintenance of the aerodrome facilities.

(4) The aerodrome licence holder shall coordinate with the air

navigation services provider in order to be satisfied that appropriate

air traffic services are available to ensure the safety of aircraft in the

airspace associated with the aerodrome. The coordination shall cover

other areas related to safety such as aeronautical information, air

traffic control, meteorological and security services.

(1) The aerodrome operator shall establish a safety

management system for the aerodrome describing the structure of the

organization and the duties, powers and responsibilities of the

officials in the organizational structure, with a view to ensuring that

operations are carried out in a demonstrably controlled way and are

improved where necessary.

(2) The aerodrome operator shall oblige all users of the

aerodrome, including fixed-base operators, ground handling agencies

and other organizations that perform activities independently at the

aerodrome in relation to flight or aircraft handling, to comply with the

requirements laid down by the aerodrome operator with regard to

safety at the aerodrome

(3) The aerodrome operator shall require all users of the

aerodrome, including aircraft operators based thereon, ground

handling agencies and other organisations referred to in subregulation

(2), to cooperate in the programme to promote safety at, and the safe

use of, the aerodrome by immediately informing it of any accidents,

incidents, defects and faults which have a bearing on safety.

(1) The aerodrome operator shall arrange for an audit of Internal safety,

the safety management system, including an inspection of the audits

safety reporting.

aerodrome facilities and equipment. The audit shall cover the

aerodrome operator’s own functions. The aerodrome operator shall

also arrange for an external audit and inspection programme for

evaluating other users, including aircraft operators based on the

aerodrome, ground handling agencies and other organisations

working at the aerodrome as referred to in regulation 7(2).

(2) The audits referred to in subregulation (1) shall be carried

out every twelve months, or as may be agreed with the Director.

(3) The aerodrome operator shall ensure that the audit reports,

including the report on the aerodrome facilities, services and

equipment, are prepared by suitably qualified safety experts.

(4) The aerodrome operator shall retain a copy of the report(s)

referred to in subregulation (3) for a period of five years. The

Director may request a copy of the report(s) for review and reference.

(5) The report(s) referred to in subregulation (3) shall be

prepared and signed by the persons who carried out the audits and

inspections.

(1) Personnel so authorized by the Director may inspect Access to

and carry out tests on the aerodrome facilities, services and aerodrome.

equipment, inspect the aerodrome operator’s documents and records

and verify the aerodrome operator’s safety management system

before the aerodrome licence is granted or renewed and,

subsequently, at any other time, for the purpose of ensuring safety at

the aerodrome.

(2) An aerodrome operator shall, at the request of the person

referred to in subregulation (1), allow access to any part of the

aerodrome or any aerodrome facility, including equipment, records,

documents and operator personnel, for the purpose referred to in

subregulation (1).

(3) The aerodrome operator shall cooperate in conducting the

activities referred to in subregulation (1).

An aerodrome operator shall notify and report to the Notification and

Director, Air Traffic Services, and pilots on matters effecting safety reporting.

listed below within the specified time limits required by this

regulation

(a)

notification of inaccuracies in Aeronautical

Information Service (AIS) publications: an aerodrome operator

shall review all aerodrome related information contained in the

Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), AIP Supplements,

AIP Amendments, Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs), Pre-flight

Information Bulletins and Aeronautical Information Circulars

issued by AIS on receipt thereof and immediately after such

reviews shall notify the AIS of any inaccurate information

contained therein that pertains to the aerodrome;

(b) notification of changes to the aerodrome facilities,

equipment and level of service planned in advance: an

aerodrome operator shall notify AIS and the Director, in

writing, at least thirty days before effecting any change to an

aerodrome facility or equipment or the level of service at the

aerodrome that has been planned in advance and which is likely

to affect the accuracy of the information contained in any AIS

publication;

(c) issues requiring immediate notification: subjkect to

the requests of paragraph (d), an aerodrome operator shall give

AIS, and shall arrange for air traffic control to receive,

immediate notice detailing any of the following circumstances

of which the operator has knowledge

(i)

obstacles, obstructions and hazards

1. any projections by an object through an

obstacle limitation surface relating to the aerodrome;

and

2. the existence of any obstruction or

hazardous condition affecting aviation safety at or near

the aerodrome;

(ii) level of service: reduction in the level of

service at the aerodrome as set out in any of the AIS

publications referred to in paragraph (b);

(iii) movement area: closure of any part of the

movement area of the aerodrome; and

(iv) any other condition that could affect aviation

safety at the aerodrome and against which precautions are

warranted.

(d) immediate notification to pilots: when it is not

feasible for an aerodrome operator to arrange for AIS and Air

Traffic Services to receive notice of a circumstance referred to

in, and in accordance with, paragraph (c), the operator shall give

immediate notice direct to pilots who may be affected by that

circumstance.

An aerodrome operator shall inspect an aerodrome, as Special

inspections.

circumstances require, to ensure aviation safety -

(a)

as soon as practicable after any aircraft accident or

incident within the meaning of these terms as defined in the

Civil Aviation (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) L.N. 135 of

2002. Regulations, 2002;

(b) during any period of construction or repair of the

aerodrome facilities or equipment that is critical to the safety of

aircraft operations; and

(c)

at any other time when there are conditions at the

aerodrome that could affect aviation safety.

An aerodrome operator shall remove from the aerodrome Removal of

surface any vehicle or other obstruction that is likely to be hazardous obstruction

the aerodrome

to aircraft operations.

surface.

When low flying aircraft, at or near an aerodrome, or Warning

taxiing aircraft are likely to be hazardous to people or vehicular notices.

traffic, the aerodrome operator shall

(a)

post hazard warning notices on any public way that

is adjacent to the manoeuvring area; or

(b) if such a public way is not controlled by the

aerodrome operator, inform the authority responsible for

posting the notices on the public way that there is a hazard.

(1) The Director may exempt, in writing, an aerodrome Exemptions.

operator from complying with specific provisions of these

regulations.

(2) Before the Director decides to grant exemptions to the

aerodrome operator in accordance with subregulation (1), the

Director shall take into account all safety-related aspects.

(3) An exemption shall be subject to the aerodrome operator

complying with the conditions and procedures specified by the

Director in the aerodrome licence as being necessary in the interest of

safety.

(4) When an aerodrome does not meet the requirement of a

standard or recommended practice as defined in regulation 2, the

Director may determine the conditions and procedures that are

necessary to ensure a level of safety equivalent to that established by

the relevant ICAO standard or practice. Such action shall be taken

only after carrying out aeronautical studies, and only if and where

permitted by ICAO standards or practices.

(5) Deviation from a standard or practice and the conditions

and procedures referred to in subregulation (4) shall be set out in an

endorsement on the aerodrome licence.