Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/893 of 21 April 2023 amending Regulation (EU) 2015/340 laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures relating to air traffic controllers’ licences and certificates

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 Article 50, Article 53, Article 62(14) and (15) and Article 72(5) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/340 (2) lays down the technical requirements and administrative procedures relating to air traffic controllers’ licences and certificates.

(2) The limited flexibility and availability of air traffic controller resources in the Union restrict the capacity of the European Air Traffic Management (‘ATM’) system. Therefore, adaptations to the regulatory framework concerning the licensing and qualification of air traffic controllers are needed.

(3) With the aviation industry rapidly evolving, Regulation (EU) 2015/340 needs to be updated to ensure that it is fit for purpose, cost-effective and in line with the globally applicable standards and practices. It is important to establish a lean system of qualifications without any overlaps. The update of the initial training syllabi should ensure an adequate alignment to the regulatory framework and operational needs.

(4) The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (‘the Agency’) considers that military air traffic controller trainings currently provided in the Member States could provide for a high level of safety and are comparable to the civil air traffic controller training requirements laid down in Regulation (EU) 2015/340. Therefore, national military air traffic controller trainings should be taken into account for the issuing of Union air traffic controller licences.

(5) Upon application for a conversion of a national military air traffic controller licence, a student air traffic controller licence can be issued provided that the military initial training experience of the applicant meets the initial training requirements set out in Regulation (EU) 2015/340 based on the national conversion report and after the completion of any additional training resulting from the gap analysis contained in that report.

(6) For the purpose of that conversion, national certificates attesting compliance with the applicable national military requirements should be considered equivalent to national military air traffic controller licences.

(7) Previously acquired experience under the military air traffic control provision should be taken into account when establishing the unit endorsement course for the applicant in accordance with point ATCO.D.055 (b)(7) of Annex I.

(8) National competent authorities and the military authorities of the Member States should cooperate towards ensuring the efficient implementation of the conversion of national military air traffic controller licences into student air traffic controller licences.

(9) The requirements applicable to authorities set out in Regulation (EU) 2015/340 should be updated in light of technical progress. In addition, consistency should be ensured between the requirements set out in Regulation (EU) 2015/340 and the requirements set out in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/373 (3) as well as Commission Regulations (EU) No 965/2012 (4), (EU) No 1178/2011 (5) and (EU) No 139/2014 (6) since in most cases the authority responsible for the oversight of air traffic controllers (‘ATCOs’) and training organisations is the same body for more than one aviation domain. Thus this Regulation provides for a ‘total system approach’, which should entail a logical and technologically consistent approach across aviation domains.

(10) The alignment of Regulation (EU) 2015/340 with Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7) as regards the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation should increase legal certainty and support the implementation of effective occurrence-reporting systems as part of the safety management of organisations.

(11) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established under Article 127(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EU) 2015/340 is amended as follows:

(3) Article 3 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 3 Provision of air traffic control services

(5) Article 7 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 7 Transitional provisions

(6) Article 8 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 8 Changes to rating and rating endorsements

(8) Annexes I to IV are amended in accordance with Annexes I to IV 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 4 August 2024.

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

Done at Brussels, 21 April 2023.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 212, 22.8.2018, p. 1.

(2) Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/340 of 20 February 2015 laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures relating to air traffic controllers’ licences and certificates pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council, amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 923/2012 and repealing Commission Regulation (EU) No 805/2011 (OJ L 63, 6.3.2015, p. 1).

(3) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/373 of 1 March 2017 laying down common requirements for providers of air traffic management/air navigation services and other air traffic management network functions and their oversight, repealing Regulation (EC) No 482/2008, Implementing Regulations (EU) No 1034/2011, (EU) No 1035/2011 and (EU) 2016/1377 and amending Regulation (EU) No 677/2011 (OJ L 62, 8.3.2017, p. 1).

(4) 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).

(5) Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 of 3 November 2011 laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures related to civil aviation aircrew pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 311, 25.11.2011, p. 1).

(6) Commission Regulation (EU) No 139/2014 of 12 February 2014 laying down requirements and administrative procedures related to aerodromes pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 44, 14.2.2014, p. 1).

(7) Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation, amending Regulation (EU) No 996/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Directive 2003/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulations (EC) No 1321/2007 and (EC) No 1330/2007 (OJ L 122, 24.4.2014, p. 18).