This Decision addresses safety and proportionality issues related to the provision of rescue and firefighting services (RFFS) at aerodromes.
The specific objective of the Decision is to maintain a high uniform level of civil aviation safety in the field of aerodrome operations, by clarifying and offering adequate guidance on the provision of RFFS. The proposal also introduces new provisions included in International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 14 (Sixth Edition), as well as guidance material from ICAO Doc 9137, Part 1 (Fourth Edition), thereby fulfilling the European Union (EU)’s commitment to support Member States (MSs) to meet their obligations towards ICAO.
This Decision introduces changes to the existing acceptable means of compliance (AMC) and guidance material (GM) annexed to ED Decision 2014/012/R. More specifically, it:
- introduces a new method of determining the rescue and firefighting (RFF) level of protection required for all-cargo, mail, ferry, training, test and end-of-life aeroplane operations;
- provides a common methodology for reducing the RFF level of protection;
- provides a methodology for calculating the required quantities of extinguishing agents;
- clarifies the role and responsibilities of RFFS; and
- strengthens the requirements for the maintenance of RFF vehicles and equipment, by including them in the aerodrome maintenance programme.
The proposed changes are expected to maintain a high level of safety, increase the cost-effectiveness of the existing AMC/GM applicable to aerodromes and their operators, strengthen harmonisation across MSs and ensure compliance with ICAO.