This page provides information on EASA developments affecting the regulation of the operation at UK aerodromes. 

In June 2012 the CAA attended meetings in Cologne to review elements of the EASA Aerodromes Notice of Proposed Amendment - see CAA's EASA NPA Review Notes. 

EASA Aerodrome Certification - EASA Transition: CAA presentation to the Airport Operators Association in June 2012

EASA Conference on the Future Aerodrome Safety Rules 21/22 May 2012:
- Overview
- Conference presentations

CAA Seminar: EASA Aerodrome Certification - Notice of Proposed Amendment - February 2012 presentation 

EASA Report of Aerodrome Certification Simulation Exercise - 'Kolndorf'

Draft European Safety Rules for Airports - In Focus briefing from the CAA - February 2012 provides background information on who is affected and what the proposed rules cover, and includes the following topics:
•  Explanation of the NPA 
•  Numbering system used in the NPA
•  Common terminology used in the NPA
•  UK transition plan

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EASA Certification of Aerodromes

In December 2007 EASA issued an Opinion No 03/2007 to the European Parliament that concluded the regulation of aerodromes should fall within the scope and influence of EASA.

In October 2009 the European Parliament amended EC Regulation 216/2008 to EC Regulation 1108/2009 to increase EASA competencies to include the regulation of certain aerodromes.

Some aerodromes in the UK now fall within the scope of EASA and will be subject to regulations set by EASA in the future. The EASA regulations are in the process of being drafted and are expected to come into force in 2013.

Aerodromes fall within the scope of EASA if they meet all of the following requirements:

Open to public use and which serve commercial air transport and where operations using instrument approach or departure procedures are provided, and:  
       (a)  have a paved runway of 800 metres or above; or
       (b)  exclusively serve helicopters.

The CAA has compiled a list of UK licensed aerodromes that currently fall within the scope of EASA. This list is our current estimate based on our knowledge to date. 

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When will the EASA Regulations take effect?

Aerodrome regulations in the form of Implementing Rules (IR), Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) and Certification Specifications (CS) are currently being drafted and are expected to come into force on 1 January 2014.

EASA published the draft rules in Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) 2011-20: Authority, Organisation and Operations Requirements for Aerodromes, in December 2011. Following a period of public consultation, EASA published the Comment Response Documents (CRDs) for NPA 2011-20 on 26 November 2012, with a deadline for comments of 3 February 2013.  Alongside the CRDs EASA has published its draft rules for aerodromes, although these may change subject to comments received on the CRDs.  Following the commenting period EASA has indicated that it expects to publish its Opinion to the European Commission later in February 2013.

Once agreed, the proposals from the European Commission will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union which is expected to be in December 2013. It is expected that the rules will come into force around 20 days thereafter, in January 2014, along with a transition period of 4 years.

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Further Information on the Changes

To keep up to date with the latest developments, SRG produces CAA EASA Information Bulletins.

The EASA changes raise a large number of questions and you may find the following frequently asked questions and answers useful: 

EASA Aerodromes Frequently Asked Questions

For further information please contact aerodromes@caa.co.uk.

You may also find the following links useful:

Acronyms: http://easa.europa.eu/docs/faq/acronyms.pdf

Further FAQ on EASA: http://easa.europa.eu/frequently-asked-questions.php