22 January 2024: Members will be aware that ERA has been engaging with EASA on rulemaking task RMT.0728 which covers the development of ground handing requirements. On 16 January, following a consultation period, EASA published their proposal.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has introduced a proposal to regulate ground handling activities at European Union airports. The aim is to enhance safety, cybersecurity and consistency in the processes occurring on the ground before and after flights.

The proposal addresses areas such as aircraft loading, passenger boarding, refuelling and securing aircraft on the ground and mandates that ground handling organisations and self-handling aircraft operators engaged in commercial air transport must self-declare compliance with EU requirements.

To demonstrate compliance, organisations must have a management system in place, appropriately tailored to the complexity of their operations. This encompasses a safety management system, staff training, a maintenance programme for ground support equipment and well-defined operational procedures.

The proposal includes an efficient oversight approach by competent authorities to streamline audits and reduce the burden on organisations, the aim being to allow them to allocate resources more effectively.

As previously communicated, the regulation is expected to be published in late 2024 or early 2025 and will propose a three-year transition period for implementation.

All relevant documents can be found on the EASA website here: Opinion No 01/2024 - Ground handling requirements | EASA (europa.eu) [1]

This proposal will be discussed in detail at the ERA’s next Air Safety Group meeting which will be held in Luxembourg on 24–25 April.

In case of questions, please contact nick.rhodes@eraa.org [2]

19 September 2023: Last Wednesday, ERA held a 60-minute online meeting with interested members regarding the draft Notice for Proposed Amendment (NPA) on the new EASA Ground Handling Regulation that is currently under consultation and expected to come into force in early 2024.

EASA launched the second consultation over the summer on the draft proposal for an EU Ground Handling Regulation under rulemaking task RMT.0728.

The first draft of the Ground Handling Regulation was consulted publicly in 2022, with EASA revising the initial proposal considering all the comments received since the publication of the first draft.

Members have received regular communications on this rulemaking task, which has also  previously been discussed within the ERA Operations Group, and updates have been provided by Klaus Knoepfle from ERA member kkconsult, who has been an active member of the rulemaking group that has drafted this proposal.

Last week, ERA held an online meeting, attended by over 30 ground handling experts from membership, which provided an opportunity for Knoepfle to give a detailed overview of the proposal, where the key aspects and changes were highlighted.

A link to the presentation can be found here [3] which is locked for members only.

A comment sheet has been sent to members ahead of the consulation closure date (30 September) in order for any additional member feedback to be given.

It is currently foreseen that an EASA Opinion will be given end 2023/ early 2024. The proposal also foresees a 3-year transition period.

In case of questions, please contact nick.rhodes@eraa.org [2].