NPA 2016-13

Technical requirements and operating procedures for airspace design, including flight procedure design

This Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) addresses a safety and regulatory issue related to airspace design (ASD), including flight procedure design.

The overall objectives of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are established in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 2016/2008 (the EASA Basic Regulation). This proposal will contribute to the achievement thereof.

The specific objectives of the proposal are to:

  • ‘promote cost-efficiency in the regulatory and certification processes and to avoid duplication at national and European level’ (Article 2.2(c) of the Basic Regulation);
  • facilitate the free movement of airspace users across the European airspace;
  • ensure regulatory harmonisation across Europe, while assisting Member States in fulfilling their obligations under the Chicago Convention, by providing a basis for a common interpretation and uniform implementation of its provisions.

These objectives will be achieved through the set-up of safely designed, validated flight procedures and airspace structures that are maintained and reviewed in a coherent manner.

ASD plays a key role in the safety of air operations and is also a key enabler for the implementation of new navigation concepts such as performance-based navigation (PBN). The proposal made in the NPA facilitates the implementation of the Essential Requirements in Chapter 2, point (i) of Annex Vb to the Basic Regulation.

Furthermore, harmonisation of the requirements across the EU would be clearly beneficial and would ensure alignment with ICAO.