CIVIL AVIATION (PROVISION OF AIR NAVIGATION SERVICES) ORDER

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 499.45

CIVIL AVIATION (PROVISION OF AIR

NAVIGATION SERVICES) ORDER

21st November, 2006

LEGAL NOTICE 281 of 2006, as amended by Legal Notices 411 of 2007,

138 of 2008 and Act XL of 2023.

(1) The title of this Order is the Civil Aviation (Provision

of Air Navigation Services) Order.

(2) The Order shall come into force on the date of its

publication except for the following articles of this Order

(a) article 3 in relation to ESARR 1 which shall come into

force on the 1st November, 2007;

(b) article 4(1) in relation to the provision of

meteorological services for air navigation, on such

date as the Minister responsible for Civil Aviation may

by notice in the Gazette appoint * ;

(c) article 4(4) in relation to ESARR 3 and ESARR 4 and

articles 9 and 10 which shall come into force on the 1st

April, 2007; and

(d) article 4(4) in relation to ESARR 6 which shall come

into force on the 6th November, 2006.

In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires -

"air navigation services" means the Air Traffic Services, the

Communication, Navigation and Surveillance Services, the

Meteorological Services for Air Navigation, and the Aeronautical

Information Services;

"Air Traffic Management (ATM)" means the aggregation of

a i rb o rn e an d g ro u nd b a s e d ( Ai r Tra ffi c S e r v ic e s , A i rs pa c e

Management, Air Traffic Flow Management) functions required to

ensure the safe and efficient movement of aircraft during all

appropriate phases of operations;

"a i r n a v i g a t i o n s e r v i c e p r o v i d e r " m e a n s a n o rg a n i s a t i o n

responsible and authorised to provide air navigation services;

"Directive 2006/23/EC" means Directive 2006/23/EC of the

European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006 on a

Community air traffic controller licence;

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

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

by the Director;

"ESARR" means a EUROCONTROL Safety Regulatory

Requirement;

*1st December, 2007 - vide Legal Notice 418 of 2007.

"EUROCONTROL" means the European Organization for the

Safety of Air Navigation;

"ICAO" means the International Civil Aviation Organization;

"Regulation EC No. 549/2004" means the European Parliament

and Council Regulation of the 10th March, 2004 laying down the

framework for the creation of the Single European Sky;

"Safety Management System (SMS)" means a systematic and

explicit approach defining the activities by which safety

management is undertaken by an organisation in order to achieve

acceptable or tolerable safety.

The National Supervisory Authority responsible for the

safety oversight and certification of an air navigation service

provider for the purposes of Regulation EC No 549/2004, and on

the licensing of air traffic controllers for the purposes of Directive

2006/23/EC, shall be the Director, who shall also ensure the

application of the requirements contained in ESARR 1 and ESARR

4. (1) No person shall provide an air navigation service in

Maltese airspace or in airspace outside of Malta where Malta has in

pursuance of international arrangements, undertaken to provide air

navigation services, otherwise than under and in accordance with

the terms of an air navigation service certificate granted to him by

the Director.

(2) The Director shall grant an air navigation service certificate

if he is satisfied that the applicant is competent, having regard to

his organisation, staffing, equipment, maintenance and other

arrangements, to provide a service which is safe for use by aircraft.

(3) An air navigation service certificate may be granted subject

to such conditions as the Director thinks fit and shall, subject to the

provisions of article 13, remain in force for the period specified

therein.

(4) The person in charge of providing an air navigation service

and operating under an air navigation service certificate shall

comply with the provisions of the ICAO Annexes and Documents,

and the ESARR documents listed in the Schedule to this Order as

applicable.

5. The Director may cause such inspection and audits as he

deems fit for the purpose of this Order and any person authorised to

do so in writing by the Director may at any reasonable time inspect

and oversee any premises, equipment, technical records and other

relevant documents that an air traffic management provider

possesses in order to discharge his duties and obligations, and may

for that purpose enter into any aerodrome or premises.

No person shall obstruct or impede any person acting in the

exercise of his powers or the performance of his duties under this

Order.

A person shall not provide an air navigation service at any

place unless -

(a) the service is provided in accordance with the

standards and procedures specified in a manual of air

navigation services in respect of that place and the

type of air navigation services provided;

(b) the manual is produced to the Director within a

reasonable time after a request for its production is

made by the Director; and

(c) such amendments or additions have been made to the

manual as the Director may from time to time require.

(1) The Director may, in the interest of safety and in

relation to the services being provided by an air navigation service

provider issue a direction to that provider to cause him to take any

specific action as the Director thinks fit.

(2) The Director shall issue a safety directive to an air

navigation service provider when an unsafe condition has been

determined to exist in a system. The directive shall identify the

unsafe condition, the affected system, the action required and their

rationale, the compliance time for the required action and the date

of entry into force. The air navigation service provider shall

comply with the safety directive as required.

(1) A provider of air traffic management shall comply with

the requirements of ESARR 3 document by establishing a safety

management system which -

(a) ensures a formalised, explicit and pro-active approach

to systematic safety management in meeting its safety

responsibilities within the provision of ATM services;

(b) operates in respect of all ATM and supporting services

which are under its managerial control;

(c) includes, as its foundation, a statement of safety policy

defining the organization’s fundamental approach to

managing safety;

(d) ensures that everyone involved in the safety aspects of

ATM service-provision has an individual safety

responsibility for their own actions, and that managers

are responsible for the safety performance of their own

organisations;

(e) ensures that the achievement of satisfactory safety in

the ATM shall be afforded the highest priority over

commercial, operational, environmental or social

pressures;

(f)

ensures that while providing an ATM service, the

principal safety objective is to minimise the ATM

contribution to the risk of an aircraft accident as far as

reasonably practicable.

(2) The Safety Management System shall be operated by

qualified and competent staff who shall ensure that -

(a) a safety management function is identified with

organizational responsibility for development and

CIVIL AVIATION (PROVISION OF AIR NAVIGATION SERVICES)

maintenance of the safety management system;

(b) this point of responsibility is, wherever possible,

independent of line management, and accountable

directly to the highest organizational level;

(c) in the case of small organizations where combination

of

responsibilities

may

prevent

sufficient

independence in this regard, the arrangements for

safety assurance are supplemented by additional

independent means;

(d) the highest level of the service provider organization

plays a general role in ensuring safety management;

(e) wherever practicable, quantitative safety levels are

derived and are maintained for all systems;

(f)

risk assessment and mitigation is conducted to an

appropriate level to ensure that due consideration is

given to all aspects of ATM;

(g) changes to the ATM system are assessed for their

safety significance, and ATM system functions are

classified according to their safety severity;

(h) appropriate mitigation of risks where assessment has

shown this to be necessary due to the safety

significance of the change;

(i)

the SMS is systematically documented in a manner,

which provides a clear link to the organization’s safety

policy;

(j)

adequate and satisfactory justification of the safety of

the externally provided services, having regard to their

safety significance within the provision of the ATM

service;

(k) ATM operational or technical occurrences which are

considered to have significant safety implications are

investigated immediately, and any necessary corrective

action is taken.

(3)

A provider of air traffic management shall ensure that -

(a) safety surveys are carried out as a matter of routine, to

recommend improvements where needed, to provide

assurance to managers of the safety of activities within

their areas and to confirm conformance with

applicable parts of their Safety Management Systems;

(b) methods are in place to detect changes in systems or

operations which may suggest any element is

approaching a point at which acceptable standards of

safety can no longer be met, and that corrective action

is taken;

(c) safety records are maintained throughout the SMS

operation as a basis for providing safety assurance to

all associated with, responsible for or dependent upon

the services provided, and to the safety regulatory

authority;

(d) the results and conclusions of the risk assessment and

mitigation process of a new or changed safety

significant system are specifically documented, and

that this documentation is maintained throughout the

life of the system;

(e) the lessons arising from safety occurrence

investigations and other safety activities are

disseminated widely within the organization at

management and operational levels;

(f)

all staff are actively encouraged to propose solutions

to identified hazards; and

(g) changes are made to improve safety where they appear

needed.

(1) A provider of air traffic management shall comply

with the requirements of ESARR 4 to ensure that hazard

identification as well as risk assessment and mitigation are

systematically conducted for any changes to those parts of the air

traffic management system and supporting services within his

managerial control, in a manner which addresses -

(a) the complete life cycle of the constituted part of the

ATM system under consideration, from initial planning

and definition to post implementation operation,

maintenance and decommissioning;

(b) the airborne and ground components of the ATM

system through cooperation with responsible parties;

and

(c) the three different types of ATM elements (human,

procedures and equipment), the interaction between

these elements and the interaction between the

constituent part under consideration and the remainder

of the ATM system.

(2) The hazard identification, risk assessment and mitigation

processes shall include

(a) a determination of the scope, boundaries and interfaces

of the constituent part being considered, as well as the

identification of the functions that the constituent part

is to perform and the environment of operations in

which it is intended to operate;

(b) a determination of the safety objectives to be placed on

the constituent part, incorporating

(i)

an identification of ATM-related credible

hazards and failure conditions, together with

their combined effects;

(ii) an assessment of the effects they may have on

the safety of aircraft, as well as an assessment of

the severity of those effects, using the severity

classification scheme provided in ESARR 3

Appendix A; and

(iii) a determination of their tolerability, in terms of

CIVIL AVIATION (PROVISION OF AIR NAVIGATION SERVICES)

the

hazard’s

maximum

probability

of

occurrence, derived from the severity and the

maximum probability of the hazard’s effects, in

a manner consistent with ESARR 3 Appendix A;

(c) the derivation, as appropriate, of a risk mitigation

strategy which -

(i)

specifies the defences to be implemented to

protect against the risk-bearing hazards;

(ii) includes, as necessary, the development of safety

requirements potentially bearing on the

constituent part under consideration, or other

parts of the ATM System, or equivalent of

operations; and

(iii) presents an assurance of its feasibility and

effectiveness;

(d) verification that all identified safety objectives and

safety requirements have been met -

(i) prior to its implementation of the change;

(ii) during any transition phase into operational

service;

(iii) during its operational life; and

(iv) during

any

transition

phase

till

decommissioning.

(3) The results, associated rationales and evidence of the risk

assessment and mitigation processes, including hazard

identification, shall be collated and documented in a manner which

ensures that -

(a) correct and complete arguments are established to

demonstrate that the constituent part under

consideration, as well as the overall ATM System are,

and will remain, tolerably safe including, as

appropriate, specifications of any predictive,

monitoring or survey techniques being used; and

(b) all safety requirements related to the implementation of

a change are traceable to the intended operations and,

or functions.

(1) A provider of air traffic management shall ensure that

(a) whilst on duty staff employed as air traffic controllers

or student air traffic controllers are properly licensed

as required under the Air Navigation Act, and meet the

medical and physical fitness requirements laid out in

the same Order; and

(b) in accordance with ESARR 5 technical and

engineering personnel employed to install and

maintain equipment used for the provision of air traffic

control services are properly trained and qualified.

Training records shall be maintained for technical and

engineering personnel and such records shall be made

available for examination by the Director if he so

requires.

(2) A person who fails to comply with the requirements of

subarticle (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

(1) A person who becomes aware of either through

involvement or by having witnessed, an ATM related occurrence in

which there is an actual or potential threat to flight safety or can

compromise the provision of safe ATM services and which falls

within the definitions of Appendix A to ESARR 2, shall report such

an occurrence in writing to the Director within ninety-six hours.

(2) A person who fails to comply with the requirements of

subarticle (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) A provider of an air navigation service shall record, secure

and store data concerning ATM occurrences in such a manner

which will ensure its quality and confidentiality whilst permitting

subsequent collation and assessment.

(4)

(a) The Director shall be responsible for analysing and

classifying by severity and risk in accordance with

ESARR 2 such occurrences and shall do so without

delay to identify the extent to which the ATM system

helped or could have helped to reduce the risk

incurred.

(b) The analyses mentioned in paragraph (a) shall include

safety recommendations and the Director shall monitor

the implementation of any corrective measures that are

recommended to be taken.

(5) An annual report of ATM occurrences shall be submitted to

EUROCONTROL by the Director in accordance with Appendix B

of ESARR 2.

13.(1)(a) The Director, may, if he thinks fit, provisionally

suspend or vary an air navigation services certificate

issued under this Order pendin g inqui ry in to or

consideration of the reasons for such suspension or

variation.

(b) The Director may, on sufficient ground being shown to

his satisfaction after due inquiry, revoke, suspend or

vary an air navigation services certificate.

(2) The person having possession or custody of an air

navigation services certificate which has been revoked, suspended

or varied, shall surrender it to the Director within a reasonable time

after being required to do so by the Director.

(3) The breach of any condition subject to which an air

navigation services certificate has been granted shall in the absence

of provisions to the contrary in the document, render the document

invalid during the continuance of the breach.

Any person who without reason acceptable to the Director

fails to comply with any direction or safety directive issued under

article 8 shall be deemed for the purpose of this Order to have

contravened that provision.

(1) A person who commits an offence under articles 6,

11(2), and 14 shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine (multa) not

exceeding one thousand and one hundred and sixty-four euros and

sixty-nine cents (1,164.69).

(2) A person who commits an offence under article 12(2) shall

be liable, on conviction, to a fine (multa) not exceeding four

hundred and sixty-five euros and eighty-seven cents (465.87); and,

in a second or subsequent offence, to a fine (multa) not exceeding

one thousand and one hundred and sixty-four euros and sixty-nine

cents (1,164.69), or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six

months or to both such fine and imprisonment.

CIVIL AVIATION (PROVISION OF AIR NAVIGATION SERVICES)

Schedule

Annex 3 is the ICAO document entitled "Meteorological Services for Air

Navigation"

Annex 10 is the ICAO document entitled "Aeronautical Telecommunications"

Annex 11 is the ICAO document entitled "Air Traffic Services"

Annex 15 is the ICAO document entitled "Aeronautical Information Services"

Doc RAC 4444 is the ICAO document entitled "Procedures for Air Navigation

Services - Air Traffic Management"

Doc 7030 is the ICAO document entitled "Regional Supplementary Procedures"

ESARR 1 is the EUROCONTROL document entitled "Safety oversight in ATM",

Edition 1.0 dated 5 November 2004

ESARR 2 is the EUROCONTROL document entitled "Reporting and Assessment

of Safety Occurrences in ATM", Edition 2.0 dated 3 November 2000

ESARR 3 is the EUROCONTROL document entitled "Use of Safety Management

Systems by ATM Service providers", Edition 1.0 dated 17 July 2000

ESARR 4 is the EUROCONTROL document entitled "Risk Assessment and

Mitigation in ATM", Edition 1.0, dated 05 April 2001

ESARR 5 is the EUROCONTROL document entitled "ATM Services’ Personnel",

Edition 2.0, dated 11 April 2002

ESARR 6 is the EUROCONTROL document entitled "Software in ATM Systems",

Edition 1.0 dated 06 November 2003.