Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and amending Regulations (EC) No 2111/2005, (EC) No 1008/2008, (EU) No 996/2010, (EU) No 376/2014 and Directives 2014/30/EU and 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 552/2004 and (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91^f1, and in particular Article 39(1) thereof,

Whereas:

Commission Regulation (EU) No 139/2014^f2 lays down requirements and administrative procedures related to aerodromes and to the provision of apron management service (‘AMS’). However, that Regulation contains a limited number of provisions addressing the safe provision of that service. A dedicated set of additional requirements, as a subpart of aerodrome operations, should therefore be provided.

Annex II (Part-ADR.AR) of Regulation (EU) No 139/2014 is laying down requirements for management and oversight of organisations by competent authorities. This Annex should be amended to give to the competent authority of the Member State where the AMS is provided, the powers to receive and register the declarations of capability submitted by organisations responsible for the providing of apron management services.

In order to ensure a high level of safety at an aerodrome, the requirements for organisations responsible for the provision of AMS should be aligned with those applicable to aerodrome operators and in particular with the requirements for safety management, operational procedures and personnel.

Requirements for the management of safety-related interfaces between the aerodrome operator, the organisations responsible for the provision of AMS and the air traffic service provider with regard to operations on the apron should also be provided for.

In order to contribute to the safety of operations on an apron, specific operational procedures applicable to the aerodrome operator should be provided for. The aerodrome operator should be allowed to allocate responsibilities to other organisations.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has prepared draft rules and submitted them with Opinion No 2/2014^f3 in accordance with points (b) and (c) of Article 75(2) and with Article 76(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: