Introductory Aircrew Rules Development Workshop in Nepal

Through the assistance of the EU-SA APP (EU-SA Aviation Partnership Program), SARI (South Asia Regional Initiative) arranged an introductory workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal, focused on Aircrew Rules Development. This 5-day workshop was scheduled from October 30th to November 3rd, 2023, and its primary objective was to educate officials from the Civil Aviation Authority, Nepal (CAAN) and professionals within Nepal's aviation sector. Participants in the workshop had the opportunity to gain a thorough understanding of European Aircrew Regulations, including their structure, both hard and soft laws, as well as their core principles.

 

The activity aimed to achieve the following:

• Provide a review/overview of the European Aircrew regulation, its structure, and principles. 

• Explore the status of rules applicable/drafted. 

• Draft a roadmap leading to the implementation of Aircrew standards using EASA Aircrew Regulation 1178/2011 as a reference and enabling thereby the measurement of progress within the program task and to set the applicable timelines. 

• Provide insights given by the SARI experts on regulation drafting principles, and practical examples on how to start to draft its own Aircrew regulations based on European standards and give time to practice regulation drafting under the guidance of the experts. 

 

The activity started with the elaboration of differences between “Hard Law” and “Soft Law” in connection with Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material, as well the possibility of Alternative Means of Compliance processes and further elaborated on how Regulations (Hard Law), Implementing Rules, Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material fit together. Furthermore, the expert provided an overview of the structure of Part FCL, Part MED, Part CC, Part ARA, Part ORA and Part DTO and a roadmap leading to the implementation of Aircrew standards using EASA Aircrew Regulation 1178/2011 as a reference was discussed. The activity helped the CAA of Nepal in getting competencies for drafting the new Aircrew Requirements based on European Aircrew Regulations (Hard Law and Soft Law). In addition, the self-confidence of the team members was significantly enhanced, especially regarding their ability to perform all the required tasks throughout the change process.

 

The activity hosted 15 participants from which 5 CAAN representatives and 10 industry representatives from Nepal including 1 SARI team representative SARI OPS/Aircrew expert, Mr. Peter Wilczek.