The EASA is gearing up to enact new rules this year that will affect business aircraft operators, Part-NCC (non-commercial operations with complex aircraft) and Part-TCO (third-country operators).

Most of the operators that have to comply with Part-NCC are business aircraft operators, including shared-ownership programs. The new regulation takes effect August 25.

Part-NCC is a declarative system, rather than a certification basis, Eduard Ciofu, EASA’s manager for air operations regulations, told AIN. The operator will declare its competence to operate under NCC and “will be able to start operating the next day,” Ciofu said.

The process is significantly simpler than obtaining an AOC, he noted. Asked about the workload involved in establishing a safety management system (SMS), Ciofu answered it has to be “proportionate.” A doctor flying his King Air to reach patients and a laboratory using an Airbus in “zero g” flights face widely differing risks “but each needs to be managed properly,” he said.

Light twin turboprops with an mtow of less than 5.7 metric tons (12,500 pounds) and all turboprop singles are exempt from the new rule.

Third Country Operators

Meanwhile, full applicability of Part-TCO is scheduled for November. This will be the end of a transition period that began in May 2014. “More than 700 operators have applied and we have been doing a safety assessment according to ICAO standards,” Sacha Schott, EASA’s manager for TCO, told AIN.

The rule affects all air transport (passenger or cargo) operators that are not certified in any EASA member state. No TCO is needed for overflights of Europe without an intended landing, Schott noted.

A TCO authorization is not a certificate. Rather, it is the validation of a foreign AOC for use in the EASA member states. “We are not the operator’s competent authority,” Schott pointed out. “We won’t substitute for any oversight responsibility under ICAO standards,” he added.

The expected benefit is an additional layer of safety. “TCO verifies safety standards at the organizational level,” Schott said. For example, the functionality of a SMS “is not something you can see during SAFA (safety assessment of foreign aircraft) ramp inspections.” Thanks to the Part-TCO regulation, Schott said, EU citizens will be informed about who is authorized to operate into Europe. It will thus complement the European Commission’s black list.