a) SAFA: Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircrafts. These are ramp inspections carried out by a Competent Authority of an EASA Member State on operators (or registrations in the case of private aircraft) of a third State not belonging to EASA.

b) SACA: Safety Assessment of Community Aircrafts. These are ramp inspections carried out by an EASA Member State Competent Authority on operators (or registrations in the case of private aircraft) under the supervision of another EASA Member State.

The bodies and bodies with competence in the field of Aeronautical Safety (Air Safety) are:

In 1996, the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) launched the ramp inspection programme with the intention of ensuring that ICAO standards were being respected.

In 2004, Directive 2004/36/EC established an obligation for all EU Member States to conduct ramp inspections of aircraft belonging to third States operating at their airports.

Currently, ramp inspections are carried out in Spain on aircraft:

a) third countries (SAFA inspections);
b) of the European Union (SACA inspections); 
c) and national (SANA inspections)