Airport Certification PDF

## Airport Certification **2.4 Airport Certification** - Describe the international obligation of states in relation to airport certification. - Describe the obligation of the CAA in covering various aspects of the certification process. - Describe the obligation of the airport operator in complyi...

## Airport Certification **2.4 Airport Certification** - Describe the international obligation of states in relation to airport certification. - Describe the obligation of the CAA in covering various aspects of the certification process. - Describe the obligation of the airport operator in complying with certification requirements. - Describe the importance of aerodrome certification and explain its key processes. **2.4.0 Unit Overview** In this unit, we will learn about a vital aspect of operations: aerodrome certification. The verb "to certify" means "to make certain". Certification is the action of certifying something. In the aerodrome context, certification means the action of making certain that an aerodrome meets the requirements of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices specified in Annex 14-Aerodromes, or as implemented by the Contracting State when differences exist. In Europe, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has developed certification specifications (CS) for airport design, based on Annex 14. When we refer to the ICAO provisions in this unit, it must be understood that if EASA implementing rules, acceptable means of compliance (AMC) and related guidance material (GM) or certification specifications, based on Annex 14, exist, European Union member states must follow the EASA provisions. By following these requirements, airports can receive Airport Certificate. **2.4.1 International Obligations of States** All public aerodromes under the jurisdiction of a Contracting State must provide uniform conditions for the aircraft of all other Contracting States. Each Contracting State must provide, within its territory, aerodromes and other air navigation facilities and services in accordance with Annex 14 SARPs. Each State is responsible to ensure the safety, regularity, and efficiency of aircraft operations at aerodromes under its jurisdiction. When the operation of an aerodrome is delegated to an operator, the State must retain its overseeing responsibility and ensure that the operator complies with the relevant ICAO SARPs and other relevant national/EASA regulations. **2.4.2 Obligations of the CAA** The safety oversight authority is subject to a number of obligations that cover all aspects of the total certification process. These obligations are: - To process applications for aerodrome certification and to issue certificates. - To notify Aeronautical Information Services of the certified status of the aerodrome and of changes in aerodrome facilities. - To conduct safety audits and aerodrome inspections. - To evaluate aerodrome emergency exercises. - To provide technical advice during the design and construction of aerodrome projects; to inspect completed projects for compliance. - To promote compliance with safety requirements through promotion and training. - To take formal enforcement action when required. **2.4.3 Obligations of the Aerodrome Operator** Complying with certification requirements imposes certain obligations on the aerodrome operator. These obligations are: - To comply with SARPs and with national/EASA conditions. - To employ an adequate number of qualified employees to operate and maintain the aerodrome. - To operate and maintain the aerodrome in accordance with the procedures set out in the Aerodrome Manual. - To arrange for audits of the Safety Management System and for inspections of aerodrome facilities. - To allow pre-arranged access of the aerodrome by authorized CAA personnel. - To notify the CAA, ATS, and pilots of any planned or unplanned changes to aerodrome facilities, including OLS that are likely to endanger the operation of aircraft. **2.4.4 The Need for Certification** The first edition of Annex 14 was adopted in 1951 and has been used since by international airports to design and maintain their aerodrome facilities to uniform specifications. However, ICAO did not require its Contracting States to certify their aerodromes. Instead, it was incumbent upon each State to ensure that all international aerodromes within its territory complied with Annex 14 SARPS. However, changes in the world aviation context prompted a review of this position: - Increasing aerodrome privatization/commercialization trend. - Rapid air transport growth. - Expansion of existing aerodromes. - Construction of new aerodromes. - Increasing global concern for air safety. As a result, on 1 November 2001, ICAO promulgated an amendment to Annex 14, introducing specifications requiring aerodrome certification. More specifically, the following provisions were adopted: - As of 27 November 2003, States shall certify all aerodromes used for international operations in accordance with the specifications of Annex 14, as well as other relevant specifications, through an appropriate regulatory framework. - States should certify aerodromes open to public use in accordance with the specifications of Annex 14, as well as other relevant specifications, through an appropriate regulatory framework. - As of 24 November 2005, a certified aerodrome shall have a Safety Management System. - The establishment of a regulatory framework will ensure that states can effectively enforce compliance with the specifications of Annex 14. - A separate safety oversight entity will be established to ensure effective compliance. This entity is generally the national Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of each Contracting State. - A well-defined safety oversight mechanism will be established, with support of appropriate legislation. In summary, within each State, national regulations will govern the requirements and procedures to certify aerodromes. Similar requirements were developed by EASA for EU Member States. These requirements are based on Annex 14 and are fully compatible with it. **Key Learning Point** The document proving that an aerodrome is certified and thus operating safely and according to the relevant aviation regulation is called an Aerodrome Certificate. **2.4.5 The Aerodrome Certification Regulatory System** When developing certification regulations, States should consider the following issues: - Requirement to certify all or only certain categories of aerodromes (some aerodromes being exempt if used by aircraft with less than a defined number of seats, or less than a given weight). - The certification procedures. - The duties and responsibilities of the aerodrome operator. - Safety audits, inspections and testing. - Imposition of sanctions for non-compliance with the regulations. - Other considerations as appropriate. **2.4.6 The Aerodrome Certification Concept** Given that aerodrome certification was a new concept for many States, ICAO prepared a guide specifically addressing this issue. This document is called ICAO Document 9774-Manual for the Certification of Aerodromes. The intent of this manual is to facilitate States in establishing their own regulatory regime. In developing this manual, ICAO drew from the appropriate practices used by States who had already implemented a formal certification process. Since 2014 airports within the European Union are required to be certified according to a comprehensive set of regulations covering infrastructure, organization and operations. The regulatory regime is quite similar to that of ICAO with some differences in general approach and responsibilities. The airports and their respective CAA had time until 31. December 2017 to be certified according to EU regulation 216/2008 ad EU 139/2014 (and Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/401 amending Regulation (EU) No 139/2014). **2.4.7 The Aerodrome Certifications Process** The certification process is complex and rigorous. It consists of a number of mandatory steps: - The aerodrome operator submits a formal application to the CAA, complete with an Aerodrome Manual. - The CAA assesses the application and evaluates the Aerodrome Manual. - The CAA assesses the aerodrome facilities and equipment of the applicant, through an on-site inspection. - In the European Union also the organization and operational services are assessed against their related regulation. - The CAA issues the certificate (or refuses it with notification of corrective actions) . - The CAA promulgates the certified status of the aerodrome in the Aeronautical Information Publications (AIP). This notifies pilots that the said aerodrome is certified. The CAA may issue an aerodrome certificate for an unspecified period; in this case it remains valid until it is suspended or cancelled. Alternatively, it can be issued for a specific period. This decision rests with the CAA. **Key Learning Point** Aerodrome certification is the main tool to ensure the continued safety of aircraft operations. It consists of many demanding requirements that operators must consistently apply to obtain and maintain their aerodrome certificate. **2.4.8 The Aerodrome Manual** An aerodrome certificate is usually a one-page document, posted in a visible location in the Airport Administration Office. It contains very few details. Therefore, a more elaborate document is required in support of the certificate: it is the Aerodrome Manual. The content of the airport manual is prescribed by the relevant provisions of ICAO and EASA. The Aerodrome Manual is an important document for the approval process and the continued validity of the certificate. It is also an excellent source of information for new employees of the Operations Division for their initial orientation. It contains a lot of data, too numerous to list in this manual. However, you should know its main components: - Name of aerodrome. - Geographical coordinates. - Elevation. - Name of operator. - Plan of the aerodrome. - Detailed characteristics of all facilities on the aerodrome. - Plan for the removal of disabled aircraft from the aerodrome. - Level of protection provided for aircraft rescue and fire-fighting. - Procedures in place to report changes to the aerodrome physical characteristics. - Procedures developed to prevent unauthorized entry of people, vehicles, equipment and animals on the movement area. - Plan for dealing with aerodrome emergencies. - Procedures for the inspection and maintenance of the movement area including OLS. - Safety procedures relative to work on the aerodrome. - Handling of dangerous goods. - Protection of navigational aid sites. - Qualifications of key personnel. - Safety Management System (SMS). Airport facilities and services must be provided according to certain criteria: - On a timely basis. - Efficiently. - Safely Any weakness along the process will cause negative downstream effects. Many factors may affect airport operations, some internal, others external: - Mechanical or structural breakdowns. - Weather conditions. - Labor disputes. - Staff shortage. - Accidents. - Human errors. - Unexpected flight schedule changes. - Unexpected passenger loads. The smooth and efficient process of passengers, luggage and freight is challenged by the stop-and-go pattern inherent to inter modal changes (links and nodes) and by the frequent switch in service suppliers along the process (airlines, airport, security, concessionaires, Government control agencies, surface transportation providers, etc.). It is therefore vital that all providers of facilities and services work together as partners with one objective in mind: the customer. **2.5.2 How to Reach and Manage an Operational System?** You have learned in this module, how closely all components of the airport operation interact and how significant the performance of each partner is for the success of all he others. We will now discuss what steps an airport operator can initiate in order to make such an operational system work. The results will be a stabilized operation closer to schedule, higher productivity of all individual components and thus of the terminal, if not the total airport, less costs and higher passenger satisfaction. Additionally, these factors will also help the customer airlines to optimize their own operation with very positive effects on their fleet productivity. **Operational Reporting** The base for a common situational awareness by all relevant operating partners is a common and agreed understanding of what has happened in the immediate past. Most airport operators as well as their partners file operational logs in which the significant events are recorded (ie. runway inspections, bread, severe delays...). The idea towards more cooperation starts with a joint operations report, to which all partners contribute by sharing their results, events and mitigation measures into one joint operations report (Figure 2.5.2.3). It is certainly not easy to encourage the partners to share what as gone wrong in their shift and area of responsibility. In rather old-fashioned airport operations, the partners rather blame the others for their performance and don't accept potentially helpful feedback from the others. Such a blame culture is destructive, as it blocks co-operation, learning and improvement, staff satisfaction and further business prosperity. With a decisive management of airport, airlines and other relevant partners jointly accepting the "winds of change" towards working together rather than against each other such barriers can be overcome and a growing together will be able to take off. **, Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) is the most effective tool to realize the common situational awareness, both in real time and in after the fact reviews.** <br/> ***Figure 2.5.2.a - The Activities towards a Joint Operations Report*** <br/> **Performance Monitoring** In order to fine tune your own activities within the operational system you rely on the sustainable, predictable and transparent operational performance of your immediate process partners. If immigration controls are highly professional and procèss passengers in high numbers through the control channels, and the passenger security controls following that process are not up to that speed by lack of staff or low control channel capacities, the great efforts are immediately contradicted to the detriment of the passenger. Consequently, the individual performances and capacities must be balanced to generate a smooth flow. This can be reached by regularly if not permanently monitoring and measuring the performance of all individual procedures and communicate the effect to the immediate process partners. By defining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with a defined level of balanced performance for all participants, the terminal operator can observe and communicate any deficiencies to the partners and can jointly try to get that process back to standard speed. Alternatively, mitigation can be initiated by arranging for bypasses or additional resources. This performance monitoring (Figure 2.5.2.b) can result in a very transparent operation in which all partners have a common situational awareness and can interact (and ideally pro-actively control) towards a balanced and smooth performance at high productivity levels. <br/> ***Figure 2.5.2.b - Performance Measurement at a Passenger Security Control*** <br/> **SLA Management** Once an agreement could be reached together with the operating partners to accept the necessity for performance measurement and communication, the next step can be to jointly agree on Service Levels, that all partners aim to fulfil. Such Service Level Agreements (SLA) form the base for more and more partnership, co-operation and exchange of information, as partners strive for better performance to honor their commitment and promise to the partners. The mutual benefits of such SLAs are immediately evident when looking at the quickly recognizable improvement of the overall performance - the reduction in delays, increase in passenger satisfaction and ultimately more business. **OCC-Operation Control Center** Most big and certainly all international complex airports do succeed in such joint operational partnership by offering a Control Room, in which there is place for all operating partners to work from. You can find ground handlers, airlines, security forces, terminal management and resource manager all sitting closely together, sharing a huge wall of data illustration (packed with camera pictures, KPL measurements, warnings of deviations from agreed standards, schedules and actual flight data). Such room is often called Operations Control Center-OCC, or Airport Operations Center-AOC or Integrated Control Center-ICC. It takes some convincement and demonstration of best practices to get all relevant partners on board, and the effort is certainly beneficial to all. The operations partners sitting in such OCCs are often only the central point of co-ordination and the partners run their own individual control centers at another place (Figure 2.5.2.c). Otherwise there wouldn't be sufficient space and closeness between the partners and the benefit of working elbow to elbow with your process partners would diminish. Increasingly, so called virtual AOCs are being established where the power of modern communications means are harnessed to create remote collaboration that is as effective as when the AOC partners are in the same room. **Module Summary** In this Module, we introduced you to the complex world of real airport operations. Let's summarize what you have learned. An airport consists of three areas: the airside, the terminal, and the landside. The airside is the most complex one, involving a significant amount of technology. It is highly oriented toward air safety. A high level of standardization governs the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of its components. Its key physical and service components are the movement area, visual and electronic aids, meteorological services, air traffic services, secondary power supply, obstacle restriction and removal, safety, security, and commercial tenants. Aerodrome certification is a standard process, which ensures that aerodromes are operated in a continued state of air safety. A certificate can only be obtained after a due process demonstrating to the licensing authority that the aerodrome meets a number of stringent specifications. Then certificate must be maintained on a permanent basis. Audits and inspections are key instruments in achieving this objective. Given the complexity of airport operations, operators must develop and use a number of detailed operational procedures, each addressing a specific facet of their activities. They form a recipe manual that is key to the daily activities of operations management and employees. The terminal area is that part of the airport where the actual transfer of passengers, luggage, and freight takes place, between the surface mode and the air mode. The terminal consists of several subsystems, linked together in a logical manner, and providing several of service. Passengers, luggage and freight are processed through the terminal in a predetermined and rigorous sequence. The origin or destination of passengers, luggage and freight, as well as the purpose of passengers trip greatly affect the processing requirements. Government control measures tend to slow down the processing of passengers, luggage and freight. The aim of facilitation is to ensure that these controls do not affect the speed advantage inherent to air transportation. The provision of adequate facilities and the use of automation support this objective. Although all terminals serve the same basic purposes, their design can vary greatly to serve different types and volumes of traffic. The two basic concepts are the centralized and the decentralized ones. Each concept provides its users with advantages and disadvantages. Ultimately, a terminal must allow airlines to carry out profitable and efficient operations. Terminal operators must adopt a systematic approach in managing their facilities. They should develop operational procedures addressing the most critical areas: curb management, crowd control, allocation of space, and cleaning and maintenance. The landside is that part of the airport normally accessible to the public. It provides access and parking to a number of vehicles. It also offers commercial opportunities through the establishment of tenants who do business at the airport or find an advantage in being in that location. The main access modes are road and rail. Road access provides the highest flexibility, and a majority of users choose it, in particular private automobiles. Airport roads and the external highway network must provide a balanced capacity and level of service. This is best achieved through coordination between the airport operator and outside transportation agencies. Rail access being immune to traffic congestion, it provides a good alternative to road access if the type of equipment and schedule used meet the needs of passengers and employees. Users make a modal choice based on a number of factors such as trip purpose and socio-economic considerations. Parking lots allow drivers to park their vehicle while they are traveling, working, or visiting the airport. Several types of parking lots meet the needs of various categories of users, depending on their length of stay and trip purpose. Providing adequate capacity is key to a safe and efficient environment. Commercial lands provide business opportunities for tenants and non-aeronautical revenues for the airport operator. Landside operational procedures are tools that allow the airport operator to manage its facilities in a safe and efficient way. Of prime importance are traffic flow control and grounds maintenance. The three components of the total airport operational system must function as one, well-coordinated entity. All partners providing facilities and services must work as a team to achieve this goal. ### Further Reading - ICAO Annex 11: Air Traffic Services. - ICAO Annex 14: Aerodromes. - EU Regulation 216/2008 and Annex to ED Decision 2015/001/R - certification specifications for airport design (CS-ADR-DSN. - ICAO Manual for the Certification of Aerodromes, Doc 9774. - EU Regulation 139/2014 on Aerodrome Certification. - ICAO Annex 16: Environmental protection. - ICAO Annex 9-Facilitation. - Norman Ashford, H.P. Martin Stanton, Clifton A. Moore, Airport Operations, Pitman Publishing.