Frequently asked questions

Although the targets are regularly reviewed, approximately 1200 inspections of foreign aircraft and about 450 inspections of domestic aircraft have been carried out at present and in normal situations, although the number of inspections may vary greatly and depends on the resources the authority may devote to such inspection.

The objectives are determined using a simple algorithm that takes into account the company’s situation from different sources of information and its number of operations during the preceding period. Moreover, since it is a programme coordinated by EASA, in the case of non-Spanish operators, account is also taken of the number of operations in other territories and the possibility of being inspected by different states.

The inspected person is obliged to undergo the alcohol test as part of the inspection process in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 965/2012 and Article 25 of Law 21/2003, and in particular as part of ramp inspections based on the recent regulations established in Article ARO.RAMP.106 of Regulation (EU) 965/2012.

In view of the above, the refusal to undergo such a test without justified reasons accepted by the inspection team (as may be medical reasons such as those laid down in Articles MED.B.001 or MED.B.0015 for flight crews or in Articles MED.C.035, and MED.C.030, for cabin crews within Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 shall be considered as a positive result in accordance with Article ORO.GEN.140 of Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 and of paragraph TCO.115 of Regulation (EU) No 452/2014 in the case of third country aircraft, and as a result of the failure to provide an inspector for the same reasons;

In some cases, where the findings detected during the inspection on an aircraft prove to be major or serious breaches for operational safety, the different Participating States may decide to revoke the entry permit of that aircraft. In such a situation, the aircraft or all of the aircraft forming part of the operator, as the case may be, shall not be able to operate or fly in the airspace of Spain. If the ban is imposed only on the inspected aircraft, it may not operate in any other State, since it cannot leave Spanish airspace. This prohibition may be lifted if the aircraft operator demonstrates that the problems have been properly addressed and corrected in accordance with the instructions required by the authority. Therefore, the revocations of the operating permit can, and are usually, temporary in nature.

With regard to these prohibitions and their subsequent lifting, participating States which are also members of the European Union shall act in accordance with the provisions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 on the establishment of a Community list of air carriers subject to an operating ban within the Union.

In accordance with the requirement set out in Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, ARO.RAMP.145 Reports, Participating States are also including information from the centralised database on their monitoring measures. This information makes it possible to assess the ability and willingness of operators to rectify the findings identified during ramp inspections and is used in subsequent analyses of the generated data.

The operator or contact person will receive notification via email about the opening of the file. The subsequent management of the file requires registration in the database created and maintained for this purpose by EASA.

The SAFA/SACA files are communicated from the EASA database, in accordance with the requirement set out in Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, ARO.RAMP.145.