Certain aircraft operators that fly within European Union (EU) airspace will soon need additional authorization.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) recently announced that all TCO or Third Country Operators (i.e. operators that have aircraft not registered within the EU) who conduct private and commercial flights to, from and within the EU under an AOC (Air Operator Certificate) will soon require their approval to do so.
This regulation applies to any TCO operator or other entity, such as a charter provider or aircraft management firm, that holds an AOC. Each AOC holder must receive the TCO Authorization. In the event an aircraft owner operates flights under their own AOC and the AOC of another company, then both AOC holders must obtain the mandated approval from EASA.
Although there is currently a 6-month grace period in effect, applications for the TOC Authorization must be submitted to EASA no later than 25 November 2014. Operators can complete and submit the application directly on the EASA website. The necessary form can be found online at http://easa.europa.eu/application-form-categories/authorisation-third-country-operators.
RocketRoute recommends that impacted operators submit the application as soon as possible in order to avoid any delays or complications with future flights to the EU.