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STATES OF JERSEY
DIRECTOR OF CIVIL AVIATION: ANNUAL REPORT 2016
Presented to the States on 14th March 2017 by the Minister for External Relations
STATES GREFFE
2017 R.26
Director of Civil Aviation
Annual Report 2016
February 23rd, 2017
Executive Summary
In addition to routine oversight activities and ongoing training, 2016 saw further progress towards Ports of Jersey s European certification. The DCA also completed a pan-island re-branding and introduced a new regulatory journal.
Principal Responsibilities of the DCA
The main role of the DCA is to ensure compliance with international standards set out under the Chicago Convention of 1944 and its associated annexes. The DCA also has accountability for aviation security across the Channel Islands. The Aviation Journal[1] (AJ) now sets out in detail the legal framework under which the DCA operates and readers are directed to that document for further information. For more information on the AJ, see below.
Routine Oversight Activities
A number of routine oversight audits were conducted across the Channel Islands, the majority being carried out by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on behalf of the DCA. Ports of Jersey had an aerodrome (including the rescue and fire fighting service) audit in January, followed by an audit of their air traffic services in June. The latter focussed on controller competency. As noted in last year s report, a decision has been taken to shift air traffic services oversight of Ports of Jersey from the CAA to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This is necessary: it is a requirement under EU law for providers from third countries to obtain EASA certification where providing services into EU airspace. Ports of Jersey provides some services to the French that fall within scope. Work on the transition continued throughout 2016 with an initial certification audit now scheduled for the end of February 2017; it is planned for EASA to formally take over on July 1st 2017.
Guernsey and Alderney Airports had their aerodrome audit in June followed by air traffic services in October. In all cases the audits confirmed the providers high level of compliance with the appropriate international standards.
During the summer of 2016 both the DCA and deputy DCA completed training with the CAA to
qualify as SAFA inspectors; this will allow us to perform inspections of aircraft using Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney airports to ensure that they are fully compliant with the relevant regulations. We will use the European standards for this work to ensure commonality with neighbouring jurisdictions and the programme of inspections will commence early in 2017.
Co-operation with Guernsey
The shared DCA role continues to prove successful and resilient. The new pan-island branding replaced the previous separate identities for each Bailiwick in May; this was developed at no cost in house and allows us to more clearly position the DCA internationally. As part of this process we now have non-geographic email addresses and phone numbers, avoiding issues that arise when representing one Bailiwick but not the other and providing for a more coherent identity.
Legislation
There were no major changes to aviation legislation during 2016. The Aviation Journal
Initially introduced in February of 2016 and fully implemented in November, the Aviation Journal (AJ) is now the one-stop instrument where the DCA publishes notices, policies, decisions and guidance on standards and certification. As noted above, the AJ also contains a joint State Safety Programme and State Safety Plan for both Jersey and Guernsey. The AJ is updated monthly and has been well received by industry. It will evolve over time and continue to develop.
Jersey Aircraft Registry JAR
The JAR is led by the Department for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture (EDTSC). Since launch in 2015 there has been a period of consolidation, with EDTSC considering the form that the JAR will take in future. During 2016 the DCA met regularly with the technical partner, Avisa Aviation Services.
Miscellaneous Activities
Both Jersey and Guernsey are again included in the state of registry insurance policy led by the Cayman Islands. This provides liability cover for the Bailiwicks should a locally registered aircraft be lost on the high seas where there is no "state of occurrence". Such co-operation allows us to benefit from the considerable scale of the Caymans' operation and to keep the costs at a manageable level.
Throughout the year the routine work of the DCA continued. On a day-to-day basis requests are made by operators wishing to conduct aerial work, photography and survey flights, all of which require a permit from the DCA. The simplified permit style that was introduced last year continues to work well and a list of current permit holders is now published in the Aviation Journal. The DCA is also involved in the planning for events such as Liberation Day and the annual Jersey International Air Display.
In September the DCA met with counterparts from Gibraltar and the Isle of Man in Gatwick. The meeting was hosted by the UK Civil Aviation Authority and Department for Transport and provided a forum to discuss issues of mutual interest and to promote closer working and knowledge sharing. As with last year, the event was a success and will now be repeated annually.
Aviation Security
Towards the end of 2016 there were a number of amendments and changes to the security requirements in the EU and UK. None of these changes are significant and mainly bring together a number of miscellaneous regulations which will be incorporated in The Aviation Security (Jersey) (Amendment) Direction early in 2017. A parallel document will also be amended in Guernsey to maintain equivalent measures in the Channel islands.
A programme of inspections was undertaken during 2016 by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (accompanied by the Deputy DCA) and the airport continues to meet the aviation security standards required by the EU and UK. In addition to these inspections the airport continues to be subject to regular inspections by the Deputy DCA as part of the Channel Islands Aviation Security Quality Control Programme.
The standardised approach to aviation security by both Jersey and Guernsey continues to be of benefit and the DCA meets with both airports on a regular basis to ensure continuing co-operation.
DCA
If you have any questions about anything contained in this report or any other aspect of aviation in the Channel Islands, please contact:
Gus Paterson
Director of Civil Aviation gus.paterson@cidca.aero 0845 527 0281 www.cidca.aero