Cologne – On 7th March 2019, 200 participants from national aviation authorities, aircraft operators, aerodrome operators, groundhandling service providers (GHSP), and various aerodrome associations, aircraft operator associations, groundhandling associations and trade union associations attended the first EASA Conference on Groundhandling (GH).
This conference prepares the way for a European groundhandling roadmap and supports EASA in developing a European approach to ensure safety in groundhandling. Amongst others, the aim was to collect feedback from stakeholders on the draft GH Roadmap published prior to the conference and discussed with the audience.
At the same time, the purpose of the conference was to raise public awareness on this new domain that has entered under EASA’s remit. With the extension of scope of the new Basic Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, groundhandling activities will complete the European aviation safety map.
The conference was organised around six main areas of improvement in the groundhandling domain, namely:
- Management System
- Operational standards
- Ground Support Equipment
- Training
- Staff turnover
- Oversight
Looking into the future, EASA will initiate a rulemaking task and a safety promotion task to develop the necessary requirements and non-regulatory activities with the aim of increasing the safety level in the groundhandling domain. Close cooperation is envisaged with GH industry and national aviation authorities. The accomplishment of the GH Roadmap will rely heavily and consistently on the use of existing industry standards in the GH domain.
