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Frequently asked questions

Does Regulation (EU) 2018/395 apply to operations with captive balloons?

No. Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2018/395 excludes operations with captive balloons from the scope of the regulation.

If I wish to apply for an authorisation to conduct commercial operations with manned hot air balloons or to modify the authorisation of which I hold before 08 April 2019 should I apply for authorisation or modification of the authorisation?

Until 8 April 2019 the national legislation will continue to apply, so the conduct of commercial transactions with balloons is subject to the corresponding authorisation in accordance with Article 151 of Law 48/1960 of 21 July.

The AMC1 BOP.ADD.030 (a) (6) refers to Full Time Employee What does Full Time Equivalent or Full Time Equivalent mean?

The full-time equivalent is a concept that allows to measure the number of full-time employees working in an organisation and is calculated by suming all staff hours of work in one year, either part-time or full-time and by dividing the result by the number of hours of a full-time employee. 

More information at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Glossary:Full-time_equivalent_(FTE)

In the case of operating a balloon in competition flights, is it necessary to submit a declaration?

Operators who conduct commercial balloon operations, and who conduct competition flights, must include this type of specialised operation in their declaration.

In the case of non-commercial operators involved in competition flights, a declaration is not required to be submitted in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2018/395, but as this is a specialised operation they must develop the corresponding checklist in compliance with requirement BOP.BAS.190.

Should the Operations Manual be submitted together with the declaration of compliance required in BOP.ADD.100?

No. In order to conduct commercial operations the operator must submit only the declaration of compliance.

Are the Operations Manual and its amendments subject to approval by the State Aviation Safety Agency?

No. Neither the manual nor its amendments are approved by the State Aviation Safety Agency. It is the responsibility of the operator, as indicated in BOP.ADD.200, to develop the operations manual, as well as the control of its editing or revision status.

Should the contents of the balloon Flight Manual be transcribed to the Operations Manual or the SOP?

In accordance with paragraph (g) of the AMC1 BOP.ADD.200, where information from other sources is used in the operations manual, the operator may either transcribe it or refer to the specific section from which the information is extracted.

Should Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) be included in the Operations Manual or can they be separate documents?

According to BOP.ADD.510(b) SOPs may be part of the operations manual or may be listed as a separate document.

Should the person acting as Head of Flight Operations be an active pilot?

Paragraph (c) of the GM1 BOP.ADD.040(c) guide material states that the Operations Officer should have or have had the balloon pilot licence, so it is not strictly necessary for the person performing the duties of Flight Operations Officer to have a valid license.

Does the requirement of 3 years of experience for a person nominated in BOP.ADD.040 refer to experience in the specific position?

The experience indicated in the GM1 BOP.ADD.040 is not required by performing the functions of one of the posts defined in BOP.ADD.040, in this case, experience refers to experience in balloon operations.