As of January 1, 2021, under which conditions may a commercial air transport operator certified by an EASA Member State wet lease-in (aircraft and crew) an aircraft operated by an UK operator?
Answer
As of January 1, 2021 any CAT operator certified by an EASA Member State wishing to wet lease-in an aircraft operated by a UK operator will need to comply with the provisions of EU law concerning wet-lease in of 3rd country operated aircraft. This includes obligation for the EU operator to obtain a prior approval from its competent authority responsible for safety and from its competent licensing authority. This will require demonstration, in particular, that the safety standards of the UK operator are equivalent to the applicable requirements established by EU law and that the leasing is of a limited duration and is justified by exceptional or seasonal capacity needs or other operational difficulties as provided in relevant EU legislation. The UK operator wet leasing out to an EASA operator should also hold a TCO Authorisation, should the aircraft be operated on routes to/from/within EASA Member States (please refer to the questions under Section EASA TCO Authorisations).