ART.200 Initial evaluation procedure – general
Regulation (EU) 2023/659
(a) Upon receiving an application for an authorisation in accordance with TCO.300, the Agency shall assess the third country operator's compliance with applicable requirements in Part-TCO.
(b) The Agency shall complete the initial assessment within 30 days after receipt of all required documents pursuant to point TCO.300(c) and (d) of Annex 1.
When the initial assessment requires a further assessment or an audit, the assessment period shall be extended for the duration of the further assessment or the audit, as appropriate.
(c) The initial assessment shall be based on:
(1) documentation and data provided by the third country operator;
(2) relevant information on the safety performance of the third country operator, including ramp inspection reports, information reported in accordance with ARO.RAMP.145(c)10 Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 October 2012 on laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures related to air operations pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council. OJ L 296, 25.10.2012, p. 1., recognised industry standards, accidents records and enforcement measures taken by a third country;
(3) relevant information on the oversight capabilities of the State of the operator or State of registry, as applicable, including the outcome of audits carried out under international conventions or State safety assessment programmes; and
(4) decisions, investigations pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 or joint consultations pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 473/2006.
(d) When the third country operator does not provide the information required for the assessment in accordance with point TCO.300(c) and (d) of Annex 1 within the timeline established by the Agency, the Agency may decide to suspend the assessment of the application until the information is provided. In this case, the Agency shall inform the third country operator of its decision.
(e) When the Agency cannot establish a sufficient level of confidence in the third country operator and/or the State of the operator during the initial assessment, it shall:
(1) reject the application when the outcome of the assessment indicates that further assessment will not result in the issue of an authorisation; or
(2) conduct further assessments to the extent necessary to establish that the intended operation will be conducted in compliance with the applicable requirements of Part-TCO.
(f) When an application from a third country operator was previously rejected or authorisation revoked, the Agency may decide to wait 9 months from the date of revocation or rejection before starting to process the new application.
ART.205 Initial evaluation procedure – third country operators subject to an operating ban
Regulation (EU) 2023/659
(a) Upon receiving an application for an authorisation from the third country operator subject to an operating ban or an operational restriction pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005, the Agency shall take into account the scope of the ban in order to define the relevant assessment procedure, as described in point ART.200. When the third country operator is subject to an operating ban covering the entire scope of its operations, the assessment shall include an audit of the third country operator.
(b) When the operator is subject to an operating ban due to the State of the operator not performing adequate oversight, the Agency shall inform the Commission for further assessment of the operator and the State of Operator under Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005.
(c) The Agency shall perform an audit only if:
(1) the third country operator agrees to be audited;
(2) the outcome of the initial evaluation procedure referred to in point ART.200 indicates that there is a possibility that the audit will have a positive result; and
(3) the audit can be performed at the third country operator’s facilities without the risk of compromising the safety and security of the Agency’s personnel.
(d) The audit of the third country operator may include an assessment of the oversight conducted by the State of the operator when there is evidence of major deficiencies in the oversight of the applicant.
(e) The Agency shall inform the Commission of the results of the audit.
ART.210 Issue of an authorisation
Regulation (EU) 2023/659
(a) The Agency shall issue the authorisation, when:
(1) it is satisfied that the third country operator holds a valid AOC or equivalent document and associated operations specifications issued by the State of the operator;
(2) it is satisfied that the third country operator is authorised by the State of the operator to conduct operations into the EU;
(3) it is satisfied that the third country operator has established:
(i) compliance with the applicable requirements of Part-TCO;
(ii) transparent, adequate and timely communication in response to a further assessment and/or an audit of the Agency, if applicable; and
(iii) a timely and successful corrective action submitted in response to an identified non-compliance, if any;
(4) there is no evidence of major deficiencies in the ability of the State of the third country operator or the State of registry, as applicable, to certify and oversee the third country operator and/or aircraft in accordance with the applicable ICAO standards;
(5) the applicant is not subject to an operating ban pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005; and
(6) any non-compliance finding raised during the assessment has been closed.
(b) The authorisation shall be issued for an unlimited duration.
The Agency shall specify the privileges and the scope of the activities that the third country operator is authorised to conduct.
(c) The Agency shall agree with the third country operator the scope of changes to the third country operator obligations not requiring any prior approval taking into consideration the size, type and complexity of the operation.
Regulation (EU) 2023/659
(a) The Agency shall assess:
(1) continued compliance of third country operators it has authorised with the applicable requirements of Part-TCO;
(2) if applicable, the implementation of corrective actions mandated by the Agency in accordance with Article 76(6) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.
(b) This assessment shall:
(1) take into account safety relevant documentation and data provided by the third country operator;
(2) take into account relevant information on the safety performance of the third country operator, including ramp inspection reports, information reported in accordance with ARO.RAMP.145(c), recognised industry standards, accidents records and enforcement measures taken by a third country;
(3) take into account relevant information on the oversight capabilities of the State of the operator or State of registry, as applicable, including the outcome of audits carried out under international conventions or State safety assessment programmes;
(4) take into account decisions and investigations pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 or joint consultations pursuant Regulation (EC) No 473/2006;
(5) take into account previous assessments or audits, if carried out; and
(6) provide the Agency with the evidence needed in case further action is required, including the measures foreseen by ART.235.
(c) The scope of monitoring defined in (a) and (b) shall be determined on the basis of the results of past authorisation and/or monitoring activities.
(d) Where, based on available information, the safety performance of the third country operator and/or the oversight capabilities of the State of the operator or the State of Registry are suspected to have decreased below the applicable standards contained in the Annexes to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, the Agency shall submit the affected third country operator to intensified surveillance. The Agency shall take any necessary measures to ensure that the third country operator’s intended operation will be conducted in compliance with the applicable requirements of Part-TCO. These measures may include:
(1) an audit of the third country operator in accordance with point ART.205(d);
(2) a requirement for the third country operator to submit reports or tailored technical information to the Agency at regular intervals;
(3) a temporary limitation of the operation to the third country operator’s current fleet and/or scope of commercial air transport operations into, within or out of the territory subject to the provisions of the Treaties.
(e) The Agency shall collect and process any safety information deemed relevant for monitoring.
Regulation (EU) 2023/659
(a) The Agency shall establish and maintain a monitoring programme covering the activities required by ART.215 and, if applicable, by Subpart ARO.RAMP.
(b) The monitoring programme shall be developed taking into account the results of past authorisation and/or monitoring activities.
(c) The Agency shall perform a review of third country operators at intervals not exceeding 24 months.
The interval may be reduced if there are indications that the safety performance of the third country operator and/or the oversight capabilities of the State of the operator may have decreased below the applicable standards contained in the Annexes to the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
The Agency may extend the interval to a maximum of 48 months if it has established that, during the previous monitoring period:
(1) there are no indications that the overseeing authority of the State of the operator fails to perform effective oversight on operators under its oversight responsibility;
(2) the third country operator has continuously and timely reported changes referred to in TCO.315;
(3) no level 1 findings, referred to in ART.230(b), have been issued; and
(4) all corrective actions have been implemented within the time period accepted or extended by the Agency as defined in ART.230(e)(1).
(d) The monitoring programme shall include records of the dates of monitoring activities, including meetings.
(e) When determining the review interval, the Agency shall take into consideration the size, type and complexity of the operation, available information on the number of flights performed under the TCO authorisation, and the relevant elements referred to in point ART.200(c).
Regulation (EU) No 452/2014
(a) Upon receiving an application for a change that requires prior authorisation, the Agency shall apply the relevant procedure as described in ART.200, restricted to the extent of the change.
(b) The Agency shall prescribe the conditions under which the third country operator may operate within the scope of its authorisation during the change, unless the Agency determines that the authorisation needs to be suspended.
(c) For changes not requiring prior authorisation, the Agency shall assess the information provided in the notification sent by the third country operator in accordance with TCO.315 to verify compliance with the applicable requirements. In case of any non-compliance, the Agency shall:
(1) notify the third country operator about the non-compliance and request a revised proposal to achieve compliance; and
(2) in case of level 1 or level 2 findings, act in accordance with ART.230 and ART.235, as appropriate.
ART.230 Findings and corrective actions
Regulation (EU) 2023/659
(a) The Agency shall have a system to analyse findings for their safety significance.
(b) A level 1 finding shall be issued by the Agency when any significant non-compliance is detected with the applicable requirements of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and Part-TCO, or with the terms of the authorisation that lowers safety or seriously hazards flight safety.
The level 1 findings shall include, but are not limited to:
(1) failure to give the Agency access to the third country operator’s facilities as defined in point TCO.115(b) of Annex 1 during normal operating hours and after a written request;
(2) implementing changes requiring prior approval without having received an approval as defined in point ART.210;
(3) obtaining or maintaining the validity of the authorisation by falsification of documentary evidence;
(4) evidence of malpractice or fraudulent use of the authorisation.
(5) presence of multiple level 2 findings raised during an assessment, indicating a systemic weakness that lowers safety or seriously hazards flight safety.
(c) A level 2 finding shall be issued by the Agency when any non-compliance is detected with the applicable requirements of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and Part-TCO, or with the terms of the authorisation which could lower safety or hazard flight safety.
(d) When a finding is detected during monitoring, the Agency shall, without prejudice to any additional action required by Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and its delegated and implementing acts, communicate the finding to the third country operator in writing and request corrective action to eliminate or mitigate the root cause in order to prevent recurrence of the non‑compliance(s) identified.
(e) In the case of level 2 findings, the Agency shall:
(1) grant the third country operator a corrective action implementation period appropriate to the nature of the finding. At the end of the period, and subject to the nature of the finding, the Agency may extend the period subject to a second satisfactory corrective action plan agreed by the Agency; and
(2) assess the corrective action and implementation plan proposed by the third country operator. If the assessment concludes that it contains root cause(s) analysis and course(s) of action to effectively eliminate or mitigate the root cause(s) to prevent recurrence of the non-compliance(s), the corrective action and implementation plan shall be accepted.
If the third country operator fails to submit an acceptable corrective action plan, as referred to in (e)(1), or to perform the corrective action within the time period accepted or extended by the Agency, the finding shall be raised to a level 1 finding and action shall be taken as laid down in point ART.235(a).
(f) The Agency shall record and notify the State of the operator or the State of registry, as applicable, of all findings it has raised.
ART.235 Limitation, suspension and revocation of authorisations
Regulation (EU) 2023/659
(a) Without prejudice to any additional enforcement measures, the Agency shall take action to limit or suspend the authorisation in case of:
(1) a level 1 finding;
(2) verifiable evidence that the State of operator or State of registry, as applicable, is not capable to certify and oversee the operator and/or aircraft in accordance with the applicable ICAO standard; or
(3) the third country operator being subject to a measure pursuant to Article 6(1)(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005.
(b) The limitation or suspension shall be lifted when the Agency is satisfied that successful corrective action has been taken by the third country operator and/or the State of the operator or State of registry, as applicable.
(c) In considering the lifting of a suspension, the Agency shall consider conducting an audit of the third country operator when the conditions in point ART.205(c) are met. In case the suspension is due to major deficiencies in the oversight of the applicant by the State of the operator or State of registry, as applicable, the audit may include an assessment with the aim of verifying whether these oversight deficiencies have been corrected.
(d) The Agency may revoke the authorisation when, following a suspension, the third country operator and/or the State of the operator or State of registry, as applicable, have not taken successful corrective action within a maximum period of 12 months.
(e) The Agency shall revoke the authorisation when the third country operator becomes subject to an operating ban pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005.
ART.240 Validity of the authorisation
Regulation (EU) 2023/659
(a) When the holder of a TCO authorisation no longer complies with the requirements for continued validity of point TCO.320 of Annex 1, the Agency shall inform the third country operator and the Member States that the TCO authorisation has lost its validity.
(b) Upon receiving an application for a new authorization after the previous authorisation had become invalid, the Agency shall perform an assessment as necessary to ensure that the intended operation will be conducted in compliance with the applicable requirements of Part-TCO.
ART.245 One-off notification flights
Regulation (EU) 2023/659
Upon receiving a notification from the third country operator pursuant to point TCO.305 of Annex 1, the Agency shall, without undue delay, assess whether the conditions established in point TCO.305 of Annex 1 are met.
When the Agency finds that the conditions established in point TCO.305 of Annex 1 are not met, the Agency shall inform the third country operator and the affected Member State(s) thereof.