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European Parliament
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Technical requirements and administrative procedures related to air operations

2013/2758(RPS)

The European Parliament rejected by 218 votes to 387, with 66 abstentions, the motion for a resolution on the draft Commission implementing regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures related to air operations pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

The resolution, tabled on behalf of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, recommended the Parliament to oppose the adoption of the draft Commission implementing regulation and called on the Commission to withdraw it.

Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Aviation Safety Agency confers on the Commission implementing powers of general scope designed to amend non-essential elements of the regulation, inter alia by supplementing it with new non-essential elements. Essential requirements related to flight time limitations are established in Annex 4 to the Regulation, which stipulates that fatigue rules must take into account a number of factors listed in the same article.

In the motion for a resolution, the committee:

  • emphasised that flight time regulations as regards flight and duty times and rest requirements involve important political issues, which should be addressed at an early stage during the preparation of legislative codecision reports, with full transparency vis-à-vis European citizens, the European Council and the European Parliament;
  • is convinced that the Commission has exceeded its mandate under Regulation EC N° 216/2008 by transferring to the Agency the competence to alter essential parts of Regulation N° 216/2008/EC through certification specifications in the areas of standby and reduced rest;
  • considered that substantial parts of the draft Commission regulation have not been scientifically based.

The committee invited the Commission to submit, as a matter of urgency, a new proposal which should include the following items: flight time duty period limits of no more than 10 hours, the maximum combined duration of standby and flight duty periods subject to a maximum cap of 18 hours.