The EASA Task Force within the ACI EUROPE structure is mainly composed of Operational Experts who are also members of the Technical and Operational Safety Committee.
As of 14 December 2009, EASA has been endowed with new powers, covering aerodrome safety. ACI EUROPE already enjoys an established rapport with EASA, having worked with the agency in the past. The association is now looking forward to continuing fruitful relations with EASA and has taken action to closely follow the drafting of the IR with strong support from the membership. Currently, ACI EUROPE is involved and participates in the following official EASA bodies:
- EASA High Level Group – this is a high level body consisting of Airport representatives and National CAAs to discuss future strategic steps with regard to the development of the second extension of competencies and was created in October 2009. ACI EUROPE President Ad Rutten and ACI EUROPE Director General Olivier Jankovec both participate in this Group.
- EASA Management Board (EMB) – takes the management decisions. Members of the Board are Member State Representatives in addition to some observers like a delegation of the EASA Advisory Board.
- EASA Advisory Board (EAB) – is giving advice to the Management Board and is preparing the meetings for the Management Board. This is an influential Body for raising concerns from the stakeholders’ point of view.
- Safety Standard Consultative Committee (SSCC) – is an independent stakeholder’s body which advises EASA from the industry perspective. There will also be a Subcommittee on Aerodromes which will give special advice in the Rulemaking Procedure. The SSCC exists since the first extension of competencies.
In the past, ACI EUROPE has also been involved in the GASR (Group of national Aerodrome Safety Regulators / pre-existed EASA and initially aimed at cooperation between Member States) exploratory working groups, which has been making an informal content overview of the Implementing Rules (IRs). The output of this work is to be used as a baseline for the formal drafting of the IRs. ACI EUROPE has been involved in all working Groups with experts from BAA, Fraport, Schiphol, Munich, Zurich, AVINOR and its Brussels headquarters.
In addition, within ACI EUROPE the EASA Task Force – mainly composed of Operational Experts who are also members of the Technical and Operational Safety Committee – helps coordinate involvement and participation in the various EASA bodies.
The Task Force (TF) meets every 6 to 8 weeks, depending on the agenda. Some members of the TF will be directly involved in the drafting of the Implementing Rules, while the rest of the group will support their work in the rulemaking process with a view to ensuring that the input of the experts reflects the day-to-day operational requirements of airports. The following airports are represented in the TF: AVINOR, BAA, Fraport, Schiphol, Munich, Zurich, Birmingham, Brussels, ADV (German Airport Association) and a representative of the ACI EUROPE team.
Naturally, within ACI EUROPE, we also ensure that there is regular internal consultation and information through the involvement of the Technical and Operational Safety Committee, the Policy Committee and of course the Board of ACI EUROPE .
Even before the extension of EASA’s powers to cover aerodrome safety, ACI EUROPE was very much involved in the EASA process in the past and looks forward to continuing fruitful relations with EASA in the near future.
