The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published Safety Information Bulletin (SIB) 2020-07 giving guidance to aerodromes to prepare for a return to normal operations. This is part of a wider project to offer guidance across the various aviation domains.
Following the outbreak of COVID-19 and limitations imposed by individual States, the majority of flights have been suspended and aerodromes have been forced to scale down or suspend their operations until flights resume.
In many aerodromes across Europe, operational areas such as runways and taxiways are used for the long-term parking of grounded aircraft; aerodrome systems such as airfield lighting and radio navigation aids have been switched-off and regular inspections and maintenance may not always be performed according to schedule.
Although it is not defined yet when operations will restart, it is important that aerodromes are prepared in order to resume operations safely.
For this reason, under their safety management system and in cooperation with air navigation service providers, the aerodrome operators should establish a plan that should be implemented prior to the start of operations.
Please see the full Safety Information Bulletin 2020-07 for more information.
