FBO Insight: A Global Look at EASA’s Proposed Ground Handling Regulations
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Photo Credit: Getty Images - choking
The recent European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) proposed ground handling regulations have sparked interest amongst leaders in the U.S. FBO Industry and was a general topic of discussion by FBO owners and operators attending the annual NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers (S&D) Conference held March 12-14 in Ft. Worth, TX.
The proposed regulations are designed to enhance the safety, cybersecurity and consistency of ground handling operations at European Union (EU) airports. Although these regulations would affect some 300,000 ground handling workers in the EU, in our opinion they may be a precursor to a broader global standard that could eventually affect the U.S. FBO industry.
Although still in its infancy and yet to be fully quantified and fleshed out, the proposed EASA regulations are expected to be published in late 2024 or early 2025 and followed by a three-year transition period for organizations to implement the regulation's requirements.
In the EU, the ground handling industry differs from the U.S. FBO operating model in that most ground/ramp services, to include into-plane fueling, are offered ala carte by a host of various service providers which operate collectively under the classification of ground handlers.
What’s common is that both U.S. FBOs and EU ground handlers, in general, have largely operated under self-regulation, being guided by existing standards in ground handling to include the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Ground Handling Manual, commonly referred to as the IGOM, the Airport Handling Manual (AHM); SAE de-icing/anti-icing standards; the International Business Aviation Council’s (IBAC) offering known as IS-BAH; and the Joint Inspection Group (JIG) standards on fueling operations.
The proposed ground handling regulations in the EU are being championed as a way to align (as much as possible) with these types of existing standards and thus recognize the value of these standards. EASA’s role would include ensuring that the content of existing industry standards are actively and regularly evaluated.
In addition, the goal of the proposed regulation is to establish more efficient oversight while reducing the need for multiple audits, thus allowing ground handling providers to allocate their resources more effectively.
Overall, the proposed EASA regulations focus on safety issues as they relate to ground-handling operations. They include regulations that put an emphasis implementing industry best practices, a management system such as a Safety Management System (SMS), employee safety training and a just safety culture with robust reporting of safety issues.
In many ways, IBAC’s International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) more than fulfills these standards and includes conforming standards for the operation of ground support equipment (GSE).
Now in its tenth year of implementation, IS-BAH has officially registered more than 300 participating FBOs and ground handling providers worldwide. In addition, it includes a vigorous auditing process which verifies a provider’s registration, at a minimum, every two years. It is our observation that IS-BAH is the best safety program that fulfills EASA’s proposed ground handling regulations objectives.
Please leave any comments you have about this blog post below. If you have any questions, please send us an email: John Enticknap, jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ron Jackson, ronjacksongroup@gmail.com,
ABOUT THE BLOGGERS: John Enticknap (404-867-5518) has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and is an IS-BAH Accredited auditor. Ron Jackson (972-979-6566) is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group (ABSG) and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training.
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