Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2237 of 15 December 2021 amending Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 as regards the requirements for all-weather operations and for flight crew training and checking

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 (1), and in particular Articles 23(1), 27(1) and 31 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Operators and personnel that are involved in the operation of aircraft, as well as national competent authorities, should comply with the relevant essential requirements for air operations set out in Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.

(2) Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 (2) lays down detailed rules for air operations. The existing rules regulating all-weather operations should be updated to ensure that they reflect recent technological advancements in new airborne systems and the best practices in the domain of air operations.

(3) To ensure a high level of civil aviation safety in the Union, it is necessary to address all-weather operations in all relevant aviation domains, including initial airworthiness, air operations, flight crew licensing and aerodromes and take into account worldwide aviation experience and scientific and technical progress in air operations. Therefore, the new rules should improve harmonisation with the United States Federal Aviation Administration requirements and include in Union law as much as feasible the latest amendments to the standards adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), namely ICAO Annex 6, Part I (11th edition), Part II (10th edition) and Part III (9th edition), regarding all-weather operations and the instrument approach terminology.

(4) In addition, safe helicopter operations under instrument flight rules (IFR) should be enabled, including the use of point-in-space approaches and departures. So far, helicopter operations have been taking place essentially under visual flight rules, therefore helicopter-operating rules were further developed. However, new helicopter-specific point-in-space approaches and departures, as well as low-level helicopter routes, are currently available, allowing the helicopters to fly under IFR. Consequently, the operating rules should be changed accordingly.

(5) To improve safety in a cost-effective way, new training requirements on specialised operations (SPO), on multi-pilot operations with helicopters, on the greater use of simulators as well as on greater variety of events used in training and checking in helicopter commercial air transport (CAT), should be set out.

(6) The new rules should be performance- and risk-based, in order to be resilient to continuous technological progress. They should not be technology-dependent and may accommodate future changes, thus avoiding dependency on particular technological solutions.

(7) The new rules should allow efficiency gains based on technological advancements and the operational use of new, advanced technologies such as enhanced flight vision systems (EFVS), as well as the application of some advanced new operational procedures, which support all-weather operations. The use of innovative training tools for the purpose of flight crew training and checking should also be sought.

(8) The new rules on all-weather operations and flight crew training and checking should contribute to allow for a level playing field for all actors in the internal aviation market of the Union and improve the competitiveness of the Union’s aviation industry.

(9) The aerodrome operating minima should be aligned as much as possible between CAT operations, non-commercial operations with complex motor-powered aircraft (NCC) and specialised operations (SPO). The requirements for all-weather operations for non-commercial operations with other-than complex motor-powered aircraft (NCO) should also be simplified to incentivise the use of instrument flight rules.

(10) Based on operational experience and considering the nature of operations and the lower risks involved, some alleviations to flight crew training and checking requirements, which were previously available only for CAT, should be extended to SPO and NCC operations. Operational developments have shown that the required level of safety can be maintained with less stringent and more flexible requirements. Similarly, some increased flexibility regarding operations with different aircraft types or variants should be provided for small helicopter operators. Small simple single-engine helicopter types that behave in a similar way in normal and emergency conditions should also benefit from some of the simplifications that are currently available within an aeroplane class rating.

(11) Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 should, therefore, be amended accordingly to fully implement the essential requirements for air operations of Annex V to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.

(12) The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has prepared draft implementing rules and submitted them to the Commission with Opinion No 02/2021 (3) in accordance with Article 76(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.

(13) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the committee established in accordance with Article 127 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 965/2012

Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 is amended as follows:

(2) Annexes I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII and VIII are amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

Date of entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 30 October 2022.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 15 December 2021.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 212, 22.8.2018, p. 1.

(2) Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 of 5 October 2012 laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures related to air operations pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 296, 25.10.2012, p. 1).

(3) https://www.easa.europa.eu/document-library/opinions