Third Country Operators (TCO)

General

In accordance with article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 February 2008 (the Basic Regulation), EASA is given the mandate to develop Implementing Rules applicable to third country operators (TCO) operating into, within or out of the EU (*). The proposed rules, published in a document known as a Comment Response Document (CRD), are designed to establish a single European system for the safety authorisation of these operators replacing the various national systems existing today in the framework of agreements between EU Member States and third countries. Once the proposed rules are adopted, TCOs engaged in commercial air transport (CAT) operations must demonstrate their compliance with international (ICAO) standards to EASA.

Rule shaping process

EASA is presently developing rules for the authorisation of TCOs operating into, within or out of the EU. On 26 January 2012, EASA published the Comment Response Document (CRD) 2011-05 on implementing rules on TCOs engaged in CAT operations in Europe.

EASA issued a first proposal in the form of a Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) in April 2011 (NPA 2011-05) and received 234 comments during the three month consultation phase.

CRD 2011-05 contains an updated set of TCO rules which reflects the comments received and a summary of the main concerns raised by the stakeholders. This CRD is available for further comments by all interested stakeholders until 26 March 2012.

The final Opinion is expected to be published in the summer or autumn of 2012. Following the final Opinion, the proposed rule will enter the legislative process, where the European Commission assisted by National Authorities under Parliamentary scrutiny will finalise and adopt the proposal.

TCO Authorisation

The TCO authorisation issued by EASA will harmonise and replace the existing national schemes in Europe for the technical evaluation of TCOs. The TCO authorisation issued centrally by EASA will become the only mandatory technical pre-requisite for TCOs to exercise entry permits (traffic rights) that are continued to be issued by the individual EASA Member States.

Who needs a TCO Authorisation?

Any CAT operator not having its principal place of business in one of the listed belowterritories will require a TCO authorisation in order to operate into these territories:

  1. The 27 Member States of the European Union
  2. The four additional EASA Member States Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland
  3. The following territories in which Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 applies: Gibraltar, Åland Islands, Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Réunion, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Mayotte

The authorisation process

The proposed rules harmonise and streamline the authorisation process for TCOs by proposing a single, confidence-based assessment process, proportionate to the operations and simple to implement. The authorisation process will be supported by a web-based application, which includes an online questionnaire.

Entry into-force

The EASA will commence this new task as soon as the rules enter into force. A transition phase will ensure the continuation of air services by TCOs that already operate to the EU. After a successful assessment EASA will issue an authorisation before the end of the transition phase. In order to benefit from this transition phase, operators will have to register within six months after the rules enter into force .

Information to industry, authorities and the public

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