FACTSHEETS

AVIATION SAFETY

The gradual expansion of common rules to cover the entire aviation sector has
ensured a uniform, high level of safety throughout the EU air transport market.

LEGAL BASIS
Article 100(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

OBJECTIVES
The completion of the air transport internal market towards the mid-1990s[1] required
common rules for ensuring uniform, high safety standards[2] within the sector.

RESULTS
Globally, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)[3] sets minimum aviation
safety standards. However, they are not mandatory, making compliance contingent
on the willingness of the ICAO member states.
The creation of a European internal market in aviation ensures that all passengers
benefit from the same high level of safety regardless of their EU destination.
As a result, national rules have been replaced by binding common EU rules. In
the same vein, national regulatory authorities and voluntary cooperation bodies,
notably the former Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA)[4], have been replaced by an EU-
level mechanism linking national civil aviation authorities, the European Commission
and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)[5]. Since 2003, EASA has been
developing regulatory provisions in the field, providing a foundation for Commission
proposals for legislative acts. The Commission, EASA and the competent national
authorities mutually monitor the application of these rules within their respective
spheres of competence.
The common civil aviation safety rules are based on the standards and
recommendations adopted by ICAO, although they tend to be more stringent. They
have been gradually extended to cover the entire air transport sector.

[1]The ‘third package’ on liberalisation of the aviation sector – Regulations (EEC) No 2407/92, 2408/92 and 2409/92, which
have since been replaced by Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 – gave EU air carriers free access to intra-Community routes
(3.4.6).
[2]Also Fact-Sheet (3.4.7) ‘Air transport: civil aviation security’.
[3]ICAO is a specialised agency of the United Nations, established under the Convention on International Civil Aviation of
December 1944 (also known as the ‘Chicago Convention’), to which 193 countries have now acceded. ICAO adopts standards
and recommended practices for its member states, but there is no binding mechanism to ensure they are followed.
[4]The Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) was an informal body established to facilitate cooperation between the various civil
aviation regulatory authorities of most EU and non-EU countries. It also developed safety standards and procedures, which
each State party could apply at its discretion . The JAA, which had 43 member countries at its peak and operated from 1970
(the year Airbus was launched) to 2009, became obsolete for EU Member States due to the adoption of binding and directly
applicable common civil aviation safety rules.
[5]Technical regulations or air traffic management and air navigation services are also developed by Eurocontrol and other
standardisation bodies such as EUROCAE, with Eurocontrol partially handling implementation. Expansion of common rules
on aviation safety and of EASA’s competences in these areas clarified the roles: EASA is responsible for drawing up technical
regulations and Eurocontrol carries out operational tasks related to the ‘Single European Sky’ (3.4.8).

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Since 1994, the ICAO principles relating to the investigation of civil aviation
accidents have been part of EU law (Directive 94/56/EC, replaced by Regulation
(EU) No 996/2010). Investigations must be fully independent and focus only on
determining the causes of accidents and preventing future occurrences, without
assigning responsibility. The same preventive and non-punitive logic underpins the
rules governing occurrence reporting in civil aviation (Directive 2003/42/EC and
Regulations (EC) No 1321/2007 and (EC) No1330/2007, which were replaced by
Regulation (EU) No 376/2014). Since 2005, any problems identified within the
air transport system must be declared to the competent national authorities, who
subsequently report them to EASA, with the relevant reports being stored and
disseminated for the purpose of analysis.
Since 2003[6], common rules have governed airworthiness, encompassing aircraft
design, construction and maintenance. In 2008, the rules were broadened to
include air operations and aircrew training, defining the procedures for aircraft
operation. In 2009, they were further expanded to include the safety of airport
operations, air traffic management and the provision of air navigation services. All
the rules apply equally to aircraft and aircraft parts as well as to organisations
and personnel involved in their design, construction, maintenance and operation,
including aircraft and carriers from non-EU countries that are active in EU. In 2015, the
Commission proposed strengthening those rules to take into account, for example,
the development of unmanned aircraft (drones) and the interdependence between
aviation safety and other areas, such as security and environmental protection.
The proposal extended EASA’s competence in fields such as security (including
cybersecurity) and the environment. It also suggested some changes to EASA’s
structure, e.g. the creation of an Executive Board to assist the Management Board
and the Executive Director. Importantly, two additional sources of revenue were
proposed by EASA: grants and air navigation charges for tasks related to air traffic
management and air navigation services. Extensive discussions on this proposal
between Parliament and the Council led to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139
, repealing the previous EASA Basic Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 216/2008).
The Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) programme, launched in 1996 by
the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC)[7], aimed to harmonise inspections
of foreign aircraft (both European and non-European) at the airports of the ICAO
member states, ensuring compliance with its minimum safety requirements[8]. As of
2006, Directive 2004/36/EC, later replaced by Regulation (EC) No 216/2008, made
the SAFA programme mandatory for EU Member States. Since 2014, aircraft from
EASA countries have been subject to inspections based on the agency standards,
which may be more restrictive, and the Safety Assessment of Community Aircraft
inspections governed by Regulation (EU) No 965/2012. EASA keeps a centralised
record of inspection reports. Deficiencies identified can result in operational
restrictions and ultimately the blacklisting of air carriers, effectively banning them

[6]In 1991, Regulation (EC) No 3922/91 achieved minimal harmonisation of technical requirements using the JAA’s hard-won
arrangements.
[7]The ECAC, informal grouping of 44 European civil aviation authorities, facilitates the harmonisation of policies and practice,
as well as international relations, although it lacks regulatory powers.
[8]The requirements set out in Annexes 1 (‘Personnel Licensing’), 6 (‘Operation of Aircraft’) and 8 (‘Airworthiness of Aircraft)
to the Chicago Convention.

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from EU airports on safety grounds. The blacklist was introduced in 2005 (Regulation
(EC) No 2111/2005). It is regularly updated, via legislation amending Regulation
(EC) No 474/2006, and published to keep passengers, air ticket sellers and the
competent authorities informed.
Furthermore, since November 2016, all non-EU operators wishing to operate flights
to the EU must prove that they comply with ICAO safety standards. This proof takes
the form of authorisation issued by EASA (Regulation (EU) No 452/2014).
The content of the blacklist demonstrates the need to improve civil aviation safety
in certain regions of the world. To address this, the EU collaborates with ICAO and
provides support to countries struggling to establish effective air safety systems.
This led to the creation of the European Common Aviation Area Agreement (ECAA)
in 2006, to integrate the EU’s south-eastern European neighbours (Albania, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo), as well as
Norway and Iceland, into the EU’s internal aviation market. The ECAA has significantly
enhanced connectivity. Switzerland is not part of the ECAA agreement but has
its own aviation agreement with the EU, namely the EU-Switzerland Air Transport
Agreement, which integrates Switzerland into the EU’s internal air transport market.
The EU’s Euro-Mediterranean aviation agreements with Morocco, Jordan, and Israel,
provide a regulatory framework for various areas, including high security standards,
the safeguarding of passenger rights, and competition.
International air safety cooperation also aims to facilitate trade in products and
services, which may be hampered by varying national technical standards. Therefore,
the EU has concluded mutual recognition agreements on safety levels with its main
aviation partners – the United States, Canada and Brazil. EASA, for its part, has
concluded working arrangements for specific projects with industrial partners from
countries outside such mutual recognition agreements. As a result, products and
services covered by these agreements and arrangements can be freely traded by the
countries concerned.
Where cooperation between the EU and its Member States and a non-EU country
is directed toward the mutual recognition of certificates, a bilateral aviation safety
agreement is signed. So far, the EU has reached such agreements with the US, Canada,
Brazil, China and Japan. In October 2021, the EU signed an aviation agreement with
Ukraine to promote high standards in areas such as aviation safety, security and air
traffic management.
On 22 September 2020, the Commission proposed an upgrade to the Single European
Sky initiative, which was adopted by the Council and Parliament in the autumn of 2024.
Regulation (EU) 2024/2803 on the implementation of the Single European Sky
(recast) was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 11 November 2024[9] .
On 29 November 2022, the Commission adopted a drone strategy setting out a
vision and a plan for the future growth of the European drone market. It sets out
technical requirements for unmanned aircraft or drones and builds on the EU’s
safety framework. The new plan outlines how Europe can expand commercial drone
operations while offering new opportunities for the drone sector.

[9]See Fact Sheet on ‘Air transport: Single European Sky’(3.4.8).

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ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Parliament has actively supported the establishment of a robust European civil
aviation safety system, with a strong focus on the effectiveness of EASA and on air
passengers’ right to information.
Parliament has consistently viewed the SAFA Directive as a means of holding airlines
accountable by publicly revealing instances where they fail to meet international
safety standards. Parliament also believes that the Commission should have the
authority to make measures, imposed by one Member State following a SAFA
inspection, applicable throughout the EU. These actions by MEPs paved the way for
the establishment of the blacklist. Parliament made the publication of the blacklist
compulsory and stipulated that passengers are entitled to reimbursement or re-
routing in the event of a flight cancellation resulting from an airline’s placement
on that list. From the outset, Parliament demanded that EASA be independent
in technical matters and hold wider responsibilities, which were finally granted
in 2008. Parliament empowered the agency with effective enforcement and deterrent
powers by authorising it to impose financial penalties proportional to violations.
The Committee on Transport and Tourism regularly invites EASA representatives to
exchange views on air safety topics. These include the links between civil aviation
safety and various socio-economic factors, the mutual recognition of certificates and
cooperation with the US Federal Aviation Administration, the integration of unmanned
aerial vehicles into EU airspace, and the effects of global pandemics and military
conflicts on air safety in Europe.
In 2016, Parliament also welcomed the Commission proposal to review the EASA
Basic Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 216/2008), aimed at achieving the highest
levels of safety in aviation. It emphasised the need for provisions to facilitate EASA’s
adaptation to new aviation developments such as increased air traffic, the widespread
use of drones, the emergence of conflict zones on Europe’s doorstep and increasing
technological complexity in aviation. In 2017, it called on the Commission and the
Council to equip EASA with sufficient resources and staff to maintain high safety
standards and enhance its international influence.
Recent key European Parliament texts in this field include:
— Resolution of 29 October 2015 on safe use of remotely piloted aircraft systems
(RPAS), commonly known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), in the field of civil
aviation;
— Report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism of 2 December 2016 on
the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on
common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union
Aviation Safety Agency, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the
European Parliament and of the Council;
— Resolution of 16 February 2017 on an Aviation Strategy for Europe.

Ariane Debyser
04/2025

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