Annexes I, II, III, V and VI to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/373 are amended in accordance with Annexes I to V to this Regulation, respectively.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1338 of 11 August 2021 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/373 as regards reporting requirements and reporting channels between organisations, and requirements for meteorological services (Text with EEA relevance)
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1338 of 11 August 2021 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/373 as regards reporting requirements and reporting channels between organisations, and requirements for meteorological services (Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and amending Regulations (EC) No 2111/2005, (EC) No 1008/2008, (EU) No 996/2010, (EU) No 376/2014 and Directives 2014/30/EU and 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 552/2004 and (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91(1), and in particular Article 43(1), points (a) and (f), Article 62(15), points (a) and (c), and Article 72(5) thereof,
Whereas:
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/373(2) lays down common requirements for providers of air traffic management/air navigation services and other air traffic management network functions for general air traffic and their oversight.
In accordance with point 5.1(g) of Annex VIII to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, service providers are to establish an occurrence-reporting system as part of their management system so as to contribute to the continuous improvement of safety. To ensure compliance with, and uniform implementation of, this essential requirement, as well as to ensure that the resulting provisions are aligned with Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council(3) on the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/373 should be amended accordingly.
On 7 March 2018 and on 9 March 2020, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adopted Amendment 78 and Amendment 79, respectively, to Annex 3 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, signed on 7 December 1944 in Chicago (‘the Chicago Convention’) aiming, among other things, to enhance and improve harmonisation as regards the exchange of meteorological observations and reports (aerodrome routine meteorological reports (METAR)/aerodrome special meteorological reports (SPECI)), aerodrome forecasts (TAF), information concerning en-route weather phenomena which may affect the safety of aircraft operations (SIGMET), information concerning en-route weather phenomena which may affect the safety of low-level aircraft operations (AIRMET), volcanic ash and tropical cyclone advisory information, space weather advisory information, etc., in a system-wide information management (SWIM)-compliant environment. Those amendments are applicable in the ICAO Contracting States as of 8 November 2018 and 5 November 2020, respectively, except for the METAR format, the date of application of which is aligned with the date of application, 12 August 2021, for the new global reporting format (‘GRF’) for runway surface conditions. Those international standards and recommended practices should be reflected in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/373, in particular in the specific organisation requirements for meteorological service providers set out in Annex V to that Regulation.
One of the enabling elements for the implementation of the GRF for runway surface conditions is the SNOWTAM format, whose instructions for completion should be in line with the latest ICAO Procedures for Air Navigation Services – Aeronautical Information Management(4), and should also be consistent with Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012(5) and Commission Regulation (EU) No 139/2014(6).
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/373 should therefore be amended accordingly.
The measures provided for in this Regulation are based on Opinion No 01/2021(7) of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in accordance with Article 75(2), points (b) and (c), and Article 76(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the committee established by Article 127 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Point 32 of Annex IV and Annex V shall apply from 12 August 2021.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 11 August 2021.
For the Commission
The President
Ursula von der Leyen
ANNEX I
Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/373 is amended as follows:
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point (37) is replaced by the following:
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“cloud of operational significance” means a cloud with the height of cloud base below 5 000 ft or below the highest minimum sector altitude, whichever is greater, or a cumulonimbus cloud or a towering cumulus cloud at any height;’;
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point (107) is replaced by the following:
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“volcanic ash advisory centre (VAAC)” means a meteorological centre that provides advisory information to meteorological watch offices, area control centres, flight information centres, world area forecast centres and international OPMET databanks regarding the lateral and vertical extent and forecast movement of volcanic ash in the atmosphere;’;
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point (168) is replaced by the following:
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“data link-VOLMET (D-VOLMET)” means the provision of aerodrome routine meteorological report (METAR), aerodrome special meteorological report (SPECI), TAF, SIGMET, special air-reports not covered by a SIGMET and, where available, AIRMET via data link;’;
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the following points (264) to (266) are added:
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“volcano observatory” means a provider, selected by the competent authority, which observes the activity of a volcano or a group of volcanoes and makes these observations available to an agreed list of aviation recipients;
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“Geography Markup Language (GML)” means an encoding standard of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC);
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“space weather centre (SWXC)” means a centre designated to monitor and provide advisory information on space weather phenomena expected to affect high-frequency radio communications, communications via satellite, GNSS-based navigation and surveillance systems and/or pose a radiation risk to aircraft occupants.’.
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