Frequently asked questions

In addition to receiving an appointment as a ramp inspector who authorises them as qualified personnel to carry out such inspections, all ramp inspectors must be accredited during the physical inspection, for which they must carry the corresponding Inspector’s Card and the action order issued by AESA, in accordance with Article 11 and Article 12 of Royal Decree 98/2009 of 6 February 2009 approving the Aeronautical Inspection Regulation. Such documents are sufficient for proper identification, and other identification documents (e.g. ID card, etc.) are not required by the inspector, but they may be shown as courtesy at the request of the inspected person.

Ramp inspectors must be authorised to carry out ramp inspections, for which they must first pass a specific training process (theoretical and practical) the detailed content of which is laid down and defined in European legislation (Regulation (EU) No 965/20102, ARO.RAMP.115 Qualification of ramp inspectors) which enables them to carry out this activity and is complemented by the training processes and plans established by EASA for the different inspection profiles, also in compliance with national rules (Article 26 of Law 21/2003 of 7 July 2003 on Aviation Safety and Article 7 of Royal Decree 98/2009 of 6 February 2009 approving the Aeronautical Inspection Regulation). In addition to this mandatory training, as part of the ramp inspector profile, staff are required to have prior experience in the sector, which, in the case of Spanish inspectors, is multidisciplinary and varied among inspectors with different professional profiles such as: TMas, Pilots, Engineers, Air Operations Technicians, etc.

The Spanish authority, AESA, as part of its role of aeronautical inspection for the supervision and control of compliance with the rules of the various activities specific to civil aviation, has the power to carry out the aeronautical inspection within the scope defined in Article 20 of Law 21/2003 of 7 July 2003 on Air Safety, among which are the inspections in Rampa, enabling the official inspectors to carry out this activity to access any airport, aerodrome or aeronautical installation in Spain where operations of aircraft of any type are carried out, in accordance with Article 25 of the aforementioned Law. Similarly, Article 25 of that law, as well as Article 3 of Royal Decree 98/2009 of 6 February 2009, approving the Aeronautical Inspection Regulation, also empowers and authorises free access to the said facilities for staff of public bodies who are their own instrumental resources or technical service of the AGE who are responsible for carrying out their own material actions.

Exclusively military aerodromes are excluded, as set out in Article 2 of Law 21/2003 of 7 July 2003 on Aviation Safety.

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.

Although the programme started in 1996 by inspecting commercial operators, today the programme includes:

a) SAFA inspections: any aircraft except those defined as State aircraft under the 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation of Chicago;

b) SACA inspections: any aircraft except those carrying out military, customs, police, search and rescue, fire-fighting, border control, coastal surveillance or similar activities or services, as set out in Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 Article 2 and Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, Annex II, Subpart RAMP.

Any aircraft taking off or landing at a Spanish airport/airfield, regardless of nationality, aircraft type or type of operation, may be inspected by AESA, directly or through public bodies or state-owned commercial companies, which have the status of their own instrumental means and technical service of the General State Administration and its bodies and bodies governed by public law, which are entrusted with carrying out the physical actions of the aeronautical inspection of a technical or specialised nature, in accordance with Article 3. Scope of the Aeronautical Inspection Regulation (RIA), Royal Decree 98/2009.

The difference between one type or another of ramp inspection lies in the type of regulation that applies to the inspection. Therefore, in the case of aircraft of an operator or private individual registered in the Spanish Register of Registration or not registered but carrying out a commercial activity, an SANA inspection is carried out with its applicable regulations (see question 2). For aircraft of non-EU operators or individuals, i.e. third countries outside the EU, it will be an SAFA inspection and for aircraft belonging to Community operators/particulars with non-Spanish registration will be an SACA inspection. In the case of SANA inspections, you can consult the applicable regulations in the corresponding FAQ.

Ramp inspection results are recorded by the Inspection Test Inspection Team (POI). The usual practice is that the Commander/Pilot of the newly inspected aircraft command, or the representative of the designated carrier, be informed of the results in the event that the flight crew has been allowed to leave the aircraft, giving him a copy of the POI.

Subsequently, with the upload of the file in the centralised EASA database, the operator or the inspected individual will be formally informed of the conduct of the inspection and of the results of the inspection.

In addition, the results of categories 2 and 3 are communicated to the Aeronautical Authority responsible for the safety oversight of the aircraft or its Operator for information and to the Operator, with the request that it take appropriate measures to avoid recurrence.

In order to achieve the objectives of the EU Rampa Inspection Programme in the best possible way, close cooperation with the Aviation Authorities of all States whose operators and aircraft have been subject to ramp inspections is essential. As part of their responsibility for the safety oversight of their national operators in accordance with relevant international safety standards, these Aviation Authorities are requested to ensure the proper implementation of corrective measures in order to address reported discrepancies.

Non-compliances detected during a ramp inspection are called findings or findings. The absolute number of inspection findings represents an important result of the inspection process that provides valuable information about the aircraft concerned or its responsible operator. On the other hand, this should be carefully taken into account in relation to the “severity” of the findings. To that end, three categories of findings or findings have been defined as indicated in Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, ARO.RAMP.130:

finding “Category 1”: it is referred to as minor finding, and includes any non-compliance with applicable requirements or the terms of a certificate that does not have a significant impact on safety;
B) Finding “Category 2”: is a significant finding, covering any non-compliance with applicable requirements or the terms of a certificate that has a significant impact on safety, and (
c) Finding “Category 3”: a major finding, in this case any significant non-compliance with the applicable requirements or the terms of a certificate that has a significant impact on safety.

The terms “minor”, “significant” and “greater” refer to the level of influence on security. The main purpose of the categorisation of findings is to classify compliance with a standard and the severity of non-compliance with this standard.

Inspections and categories of findings are recorded in EASA’s centralised database for SAFA and SACA inspections.

When considering the findings established during a ramp inspection, Category 2 (significant) and Category 3 (important) findings require the greatest attention when it comes to the need for rectification.

Authorised inspectors use a checklist with 53 points to be inspected during ramp inspections, divided into four (4) Categories:

a) Flight cabin,
b) Safety elements/passenger cabin,
c) Status of aircraft,
d) Cargo, and
e) General aspects

The checks carried out in each of these categories include (without being an exhaustive list) the documentation of the aircraft which the operator is required to carry on board in accordance with the applicable regulations, the procedures, technical manuals and release documentation that are kept in the cockpit and which the flight crew and cabin crew are required to comply with, pilot licences, security equipment in the cockpit and cabin, the general condition of the hold, the cargo being carried on the aircraft and its associated documentation and the general external condition of the aircraft.

As the time between arrival and departure (stop time) may not be enough to review the complete checklist, all 53 points may not be inspected. The policy of the Rampa Inspection Program is not to interfere with the operator’s normal operation by avoiding delays except for safety reasons, as set out in Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, ARO.RAMP.125, as well as to avoid, as far as possible, contact with the existing passage.

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.