Kate Sarsfield/LONDON
Europe's International Council of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Associations (IAOPA) is calling on the European Commission to urge the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) to remove all reference to general aviation and aerial work in the Joint Airworthiness Requirements (JAR). The move is in response to IAOPA's concerns that JARs could restrict development of GA activities.
The JARs include JAR-FCL (Flight Crew Licensing), which came into force earlier this year, and JAR-OPS 2, which is due for implementation early next year, initially in Germany. JAR-OPS 2 will blanket all aspects of GA outside commercial transport, including corporate aircraft, company flight departments and aerial work. The latter covers "operations in which an aircraft is used for specialised services such as agriculture, construction photography, search and rescue, and aerial advertising".
IAOPA's concerns involve those JAR-OPS 2 regulations affecting private and commercial companies with less than three aircraft.
In a letter to European Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio, IAOPA vice president Klaus Zeh says: "In Europe there are more than 36,000 general aviation and aerial work aircraft and an estimated 250,000 pilots. We are very concerned that the combined impact of JAR-FCL, JAR medicals and JAR-OPS 2, with the additional cost burdens, may further restrict the utilisation of general aviation/aerial work aircraft to the point where this activity is no longer economically viable."
IAOPA says the implementation of JAR-FCL and JAR-OPS 2 was to harmonise operating practices across Europe. Zeh adds: "IAOPA could see the benefits of set harmonised aviation standards within Europe and we supported this process. The reality, however, is very different as member states apply their own interpretation."
The German-based association says there has been a 10-fold increase in the cost and time it takes for pilots to be trained as instructors. In the UK alone, it says, the flight training industry has suffered a loss of £6 million ($8.6 million) this year, with fewer people taking up courses, while in Switzerland more pilots are flying on US pilot certificates while Swiss licenses are in decline.
Source: Flight International
