- Should the schedule notified to crew members cover a minimum period (one month, fifteen days,...)?
According to the regulatory point ORO.FTL.110:
No. The standard does not indicate the period to be reported in the programming. Provided that each programming day is known 14 days in advance, the requirement is met.
- Spanish aircraft are also inspected outside Spain? Who does?
Oh, yeah, yeah. Any aircraft registered in Spain may be inspected by any competent authority in the country of destination of the flight, or intermediate stops if any, in accordance with the provisions of the 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation of Chicago, Article 16 and in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, Annex II, Subpart RAMP. Among the types of inspection they can receive are SAFA/SACA and SANA ramp inspections, which can only be carried out by those countries participating in the EU SAFA Programme. Participants are currently in the Programme, which are: Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Republic of North Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom.
- Do Rampa Inspections require notice to the Operator?
No, notice is never made and this is not required. By the very definition and nature of the Rampa Inspectorate, which consists of a: ‘on-site inspection, not notified in advance, carried out on an aircraft in the movement area (usually at a platform or aerodrome) of an airport or aerodrome, during the course of its normal operation between flights and without interfering as far as possible with it’, this inspection is never notified in advance, since one of its objectives is to check the operation of the aircraft under normal conditions, so that notice to the operator could lead to possible preparation of the aircraft in the expectation of the inspection, which would alter the purpose of the inspection.
- Can I refuse to take an alcohol test?
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;
- Why are Rampa Inspections done in Spain?
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)
- Can there be personnel other than inspection staff in inspections?
Yes, sometimes you can be part of the action team Inspectors in training, either of the National Authority (AESA) and of other international authorities that are forming in Spain. On the other hand, Observer personnel, belonging to different services of the State Aviation Safety Agency or even other bodies or organisations, may also be present at the inspection, but without active participation in the inspection.
In all cases, the staff shall be duly accredited (inspector’s card or other identification document) and shall carry their order of action in accordance with Article 11 of Royal Decree 98/2009 of 6 February 2009 approving the Aeronautical Inspection Regulation.
- Can an operator require crew members to check, i.e. confirm schedules or respond to notification of a change of schedule?
In accordance with the regulatory points ORO.FTL.110; ORO.FTL.205; ORO.FTL.105:
Yes, but a compulsory check-up is an activity and therefore interrupts any rest, and may not be carried out during the extended rest period or during the pre-flight rest period. If the check includes a change, the check must meet the criteria for changes in minimum communication times, etc. The time at which the check is carried out should be established taking into account the responsibilities defined in ORO.FTL.110, in particular as regards the ability of crews to manage their rest properly to be sufficiently free from fatigue.
- Can measures banning operations be applied as a result of findings at an Inspectorate in Rampa?
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.
- What regulations are applicable in the inspections at Rampa SAFA/SACA?
In Spain, as a member of ICAO (Instrument of Ratification published in BOE No. 55 of 24 February 1947) and of the European Union (Instrument of Ratification published in BOE No 1 of 1 January 1986), the SAFA/SACA Inspections are part of the Rampa Inspection Programmes developed by ICAO from which the European Commission’s SAFA Inspection Programme was derived, after which EASA extended it to air carriers within the EU with SACA inspections.
The main regulations that apply to SANA Inspections are as follows (listed not exhaustive):
a. INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK:
(1) Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation of 1944, Article 16. Aircraft inspection; and its derivative Annexes
2) Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, Chapter IV, Article 62 and its derived technical regulations, including:I. Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, Annex II, Subpart RAMP;
II. Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014,
iii. Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011,
iv. Regulation (EU) No 748/2012,
v. Regulation (EU) No 923/2012,B. NATIONAL MARCO
1) Law 21/2003 of 7 July 2003 on Aviation Safety;
(2) Law 48/1960 of 21 July on Air Navigation;
3. Royal Decree 98/2009 of 6 February 2009, Aeronautical Inspection Regulations; and
4) Law 39/2015 of 1 October 2015 on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations.
5) Royal Decree 184/2008 of 8 February 2008 approving the Statute of the State Aviation Safety Agency
6) Technical regulations, including:I. RD 750/2014
ii. RD 384/2015
iii. Technical standard of ULM.The detail for the execution of ramp inspections is developed by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in EASA’s Rampa Inspection Manual, which details inspection instructions and procedures.
- Which bodies and agencies have competence in the conduct of inspections in Rampa?
The bodies and bodies with competence in the field of Aeronautical Safety (Air Safety) are:
the European Commission, as the maximum decision-making body of the Member States of the European Union;
the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the body established by the European Commission, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008, for the development of the European Union’s aviation safety strategy. (c
) At national level, the State Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), established by Royal Decree (RD) 184/2008 of 8 February, is the body that has the purposes, powers and functions in the field of aviation safety for civil aviation in the territory of the Spanish State.AESA has (among others) the delegated powers to carry out inspections in Rampa in the national territory, which it will carry out on its own or through its own instrumental means.
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