General Aviation
Non-commercial skydiving operations
- Do I need authorisation to perform non-commercial skydiving operations?
In accordance with Article 5 of Commission Regulation (EU) 965/2012 of 5 October 2012, non -commercial operations with aircraft other than complex powered aircraft require only compliance with Part-NCO, and therefore it is not necessary to submit a declaration of compliance or obtain any authorisation from the State Aviation Safety Agency. - Can a club or association conduct commercial operations?
In accordance with Article 6 of Commission Regulation (EU) 965/2012 of 5 October 2012, an organisation set up with the aim of promoting air sports or recreational aviation may launch paratroopers on a commercial basis with aircraft other than complex powered aircraft provided that:- the aircraft is operated by the organisation under ownership or unmanned lease;
- the flight does not generate profits distributed outside the organisation and that,
- where persons who are not members of the organisation participate, such flights represent only a marginal activity of the organisation.
- What is considered marginal activity?
The guidance material (GM) published by the European Aviation Safety Agency to interpret as marginal activity states:
The term ‘marginal activity’ should be understood as representing a very minor part of the overall activity of an organisation, mainly for the purpose of promoting itself or attracting new students or members. An organisation intending to offer such flights as regular business activity is not considered to meet the condition of marginal activity. Also, flights organised with the sole intent to generate income for the organisation, are not considered to be a marginal activity.
In accordance with the above, flights organised with the sole objective of generating revenue for the organisation or the performance of the activity on a regular basis are not considered within the concept of marginal activity. - How is skydiving activities announced to the rest of the airspace users?
Skydiving activities can be carried out on a permanent basis at the same location or on an ad hoc basis. In order to keep all airspace users informed of the places where this activity is carried out, two means have been developed depending on whether the activity is regular or timely:- Areas promulgated: Volume of airspace published in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) in which air sport activities are frequently carried out, which does not imply restriction of use for other traffic and which informs other airspace users of the aeronautical activity carried out in that volume, as defined in Royal Decree 1180/2018 of 21 September 2018.
- NOTAM: Notice containing information relating to the establishment, condition or modification of any aeronautical facilities, services, procedures or hazards that it is essential to know in a timely manner the personnel performing flight operations, as defined in the Air Circulation Regulation approved by Royal Decree 57/2002 of 18 January.
- The frequent conduct of skydiving activities on the same site requires the establishment of an promulgated area to be published in section ENR 5.5 of the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP).
- The sites currently published in AIP ENR 5.5 should be treated as promulgated areas, as provided for in the approved procedure, and information relating to the time of use and other relevant information cannot be considered as promulgated areas in the field. In accordance with the above, an informative NOTAM should be published on a transitional basis.
- The publication of a NOTAM is reserved to announce specific activities and the timely modification of the conditions of use of an promulgated area and, on a temporary basis, for the implementation of activities on the sites currently published in IPA ENR 5.5, in so far as they are published as an promulgated area.
- The procedure for dealing with both the establishment of promulgated areas and the publication of a NOTAM is published on the website of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, and can be accessed by clicking here.
- IMPORTANT: Requests for publication of NOTAM for activities to be carried out from 1 August 2020 should be addressed to ENAIRE’s Operational Coordination Department (cop@enaire.es).
Operators engaged in non-commercial skydiving operations (clubs or associations) with non-complex powered aircraft should comply with Annex VII (Part-NCO) to Commission Regulation (EU) 965/2012 of 5 October.
As a specialised operation, in addition to the requirements contained in Subparts GEN, OP, POL and IDE, operators must comply with the requirements of Subpart E (specific requirements), namely those set out in Section 1 (General) and Section 4 (PAR).
