Annex A - Consultation paper

Summary

The European Council Directive 2006/23/EC establishing a common Community Air Traffic Controller licence has been brought into force to increase safety standards and improve the operations of the Community air traffic control system. The objective is to produce a more efficient organisation of the labour market for air traffic controllers and make freedom of movement more effective by removing the current discretion Member States have with regard to mutual recognition. The Government is required to transpose the majority of the Directive’s provisions into UK legislation by 17 May 2008. The language proficiency requirements must be transposed by May 2010.

Background

A rise in air traffic-related delays toward the end of the 1990's inspired the European Commission to examine what should be done to deal with this burgeoning problem. The result was the Single European Sky initiative. To help the Commission further in defining the way forward, a high-level group of experts from Member States was convened. One of the issues that they considered was a lack of a common air traffic controller licence in Europe. In their report, published in November 2000, the Group concluded that there was a need to harmonise air traffic controller licences in order to establish common safety and training standards as well as offering the possibility of an improvement in the mobility of controllers.

During subsequent negotiations on the Single European Sky package it was recognised that a common licence should be considered. The Commission went on to explain that it was preparing a Directive on a common licence and as a consequence it was decided not to include it in what became the Single European Sky Regulations.  The Single European Sky Air Navigation Service Regulation did however place a requirement on the Commission to present a proposal on the licensing of controllers.

The Commission subsequently drew up the proposal that became Directive 2006/23/EC (“the ATCO Directive”). The ATCO Directive transposes the existing safety requirements of Eurocontrol Safety and Regulatory Requirement No 5 (ESARR5) - Air Traffic Management Services Personnel, into Community law.

The Issue

The ATCO Directive has the stated objective of increasing safety standards and improving operational performance of the Community air traffic control system through the issuance of a Community wide air traffic controller licence. It will provide the impetus for a more efficient organisation of the labour market for air traffic controllers, increasing the pool of available talent seeking new challenges in a market place where Functional Airspace Blocks are being conceived. This should be further enhanced by removing Member States’ discretion on the recognition of other States national licences, which of itself will assist the mobility of controllers operating within Europe.

The ATCO Directive draws heavily on the work carried out in connection with the introduction of Eurocontrol's ESARR5. A key foundation block of ESARR5 is the development of training requirements for air traffic controllers and these requirements are referenced within the ATCO Directive, as are the medical requirements developed under ESARR5.

As a consequence, the majority of requirements established in the ATCO Directive reflect those contained in ESARR5 and have already been assimilated into UK legislation through an amendment to the Air Navigation Order (ANO) made in December 2003. Therefore, the overall impact of the implementation of the ATCO Directive within the UK is likely to be minimal. Nevertheless, certain requirements go beyond the scope of ESARR5 and it is these that the UK must now address.

The provisions of the ATCO Directive will be transposed by way of a Statutory Instrument amending the current ANO. Furthermore, an amendment to Civil Aviation Publication (CAP 744), "United Kingdom Manual of Personnel Licensing - Air Traffic Controllers" and to CAP 584, "Requirements for the recognition of colleges and the approval and conduct of air traffic control training courses" will be required. The CAA will consult separately on the proposed changes to CAP 584 and CAP 744.

View sought

As mentioned, the majority of the provisions of the ATCO Directive can already be found in the ANO. However, there are a small but not insignificant number of provisions that will require suitable changes to Part 10 and Schedule 11 of the ANO. It is in these areas - minimum educational requirements, the minimum age limit, language proficiency and revised medical requirements that stakeholder views are sought. In particular, the Department would welcome your comments on the following questions:

Educational qualification

Article 5 (1) (a) of the ATCO Directive requires that student ATCOs must hold "at least a secondary education diploma or a diploma granting access to university or equivalent ". Provision is made to allow the CAA to evaluate the educational standard of applicants not meeting this requirement.

The Government proposes to require student ATCOs to hold a GCSE level or equivalent in order to comply with this provision (article 108(4)(a) of the attached draft SI refers). Where an individual does not meet the necessary educational standard, the CAA will be given a discretionary power to waive this requirement, provided that it is satisfied that the applicant’s education and experience would give him/her a reasonable prospect of completing air traffic control training (article 108(5)).

Question 1: Will these arrangements adversely impact on your company or organisation’s recruitment policy? If so, please explain how.

Minimum age

Article 5 of the Directive also requires ATCOs to be at least 21 years old (student ATCOs must be at least 18). Discretion is given for Member States to lower the minimum age limit for ATCOs in "duly justified cases".

The Government proposes to amend Schedule 11, Part A of the Air Navigation Order 2005 to change the current minimum age limit from 20 to 21, but to allow the CAA to grant an ATCO licence to an individual who has reached the age of at least 20 where it considers the circumstances of the case justify this.

Question 2: Will this increase in the minimum age limit for ATCOs have an adverse impact on your company/organisation? If so, please explain how.

Language Proficiency

Article 8 of the ATCO Directive introduces a new English language proficiency requirement for ATCOs, although this is not required to be brought into force until 17 May 2010. Given that the International Civil Aviation Organisation will be introducing its own language proficiency requirements for pilots and ATCOs with effect from 5 March 2008 and that English is the first language of the vast majority of UK CAA licensed ATCOs, the Government proposes to introduce the Directive's language requirements at the same time as the Directive's other provisions (see the new article 108(6)(ii) of the attached draft SI).

Question 3: Will early introduction of the language proficiency requirement create any difficulties for your company/organisation? If so, please explain how.

Medical certification

Article 12 of the ATCO Directive introduces new medical standards for ATCOs, consistent with the provisions of Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation and the requirements of the European Class 3 Medical Certification of Air Traffic Controllers laid down by Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. The changes to the current Class 1 Medical standards are relatively minor. In view of this, and in order to reduce the administrative and regulatory burden of issuing new medical certificates to all UK CAA licensed ATCOs on 17 May 2008, it is proposed to apply the new medical standards when an individual ATCO next renews his/her current medical certificate. Certificates issued before 17 May 2008 will be regarded by the CAA as being valid medical certificates for the purposes of the Regulations until such time that the certificate is renewed as part of the normal renewal cycle.

Question 4: Do you agree with this approach? If not, please explain your concerns.

Question 5: Do you have any other comments on the proposed amending Statutory Instrument?

Question 6: An Impact Assessment accompanies the consultation paper. If there are any additional costs or benefits that you feel have not been reflected in the Assessment, please provide details, quantified where possible.

Your responses to the above questions should please be sent to Bruce Ridout at the address given in the accompanying letter, to arrive by Wednesday 19 March 2008.