FLUG REVUE July 2004: EASA is integrating factor in Europe

EASA: INTEGRATION FACTOR FOR EUROPE

By Volker K. Thomalla

From October a new official body will be based in Cologne: the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is moving from its temporary residence in Brussels to its own permanent location in the cathedral city on the Rhine. EASA was set up on 15 July 2002 by a resolution of the European Parliament and commenced operations almost 15 months later. Its creation is an important step in the direction of European integration and in the long-term will save civil aviation millions of euros. Within the European Union, it is not only responsible for the certification of civil aircraft and civil aviation products, but in the future aviation personnel throughout Europe will fall within its ambit as well. It will also play the leading role in the definition of certification criteria and environmental requirements for new aircraft. It is the European counterpart to the American Federal Aviation Administration.

Manufacturers of civil aircraft now have in EASA a single point of contact that is responsible for certification. Certification from EASA will be valid throughout the EU. As a result, successful completion of a single licensing procedure will be all it takes for manufacturers to be able to offer their products in every EU state. In the past, a new aircraft had to be specifically certificated in every single country, which was not only time-consuming but extremely expensive as well.

Although there was a European certification organisation, the Joint Aviation Authority (JAA) before EASA was founded, the JAA could not grant certification and simply issued recommendations for certification to the national aviation authorities. The national authorities were not obliged to comply with this recommendation. Thanks to the creation of EASA, this has changed. Certification from EASA will automatically be valid in every EU state. The national aviation authorities have lost some of their powers and will have to relinquish further competencies to Cologne as EASA grows. Patrick Goudou, Executive Director of EASA, has made it clear that EASA will have the final say and that in some areas the national aviation authority will play only second fiddle. On the day on which the new authority began its work, he said, “Naturally our priority is to get off to a successful start without interrupting ongoing certification activities. Although EASA will start by drawing its expertise from the authorities of the Member States and, above all, from the JAA, the capabilities of the new body will steadily increase.” In view of this underlying situation, the speed at which EASA has expanded is truly astonishing.

The foundation of EASA came at just the right time for it to take over responsibility for certification of the biggest European aircraft project, the Airbus A380. It is not just Europeans who will save money through EASA, but all the other manufacturers as well. Thus, only EASA type certification will be required for the A380 in order for it to be sold in the EU, while Boeing will only need EASA certification for the 7E7 and will no longer have to ply its wares from one national authority to another to gain certification of the aircraft.

11 December 2003 heralded the start of a new era when EASA issued its first type certification, for the Arriel 2B1A helicopter engine from Turbomeca. On 13 May 2004, during the Berlin Air Show, Dr. Norbert Lohl, Certification Director of EASA, handed over the EASA certification document to Diamond Aircraft of Wiener Neustadt for the diesel-powered twin-engine DA42 Twin Star, making it the first aircraft built in Europe to have been certificated by EASA.

From page 4 of FLUG REVUE 7/2004

Last updated 11 June 2004

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