AAA calls for aerodrome safety regs review

The AAA has called for a review into aerodrome operation safety regulations. (Andrew McLaughlin)

The Australian Airports Association (AAA) has called for a full review of the CASA regulations governing the operation of Australian aerodromes as part of its submission to the government’s review of aviation safety regulation.

Specifically, the industry body says MOS Part 139 should be reviewed as a matter of priority to bring the standards up to date with current systems and technologies. The Manual of Standards (MOS) Part 139 – Aerodromes is the set of regulations established and maintained by CASA which covers all aspects of the operations of aerodromes.

“Industry has identified a number of serious issues with MOS Part 139, including the need to update the text to reflect the latest developments in aircraft technology and airport operations,” Caroline Wilkie, CEO of the AAA said in a statement. “MOS Part 139 contains many conflicting rules and definitions, right down to the most basic interpretation of an ‘aircraft’. The lack of clarity and consistency in MOS Part 139 has the potential to cause safety risks at aerodromes.”

An AAA standards group has made several other recommendations, including:

CASA increasing their stakeholder engagement in relation to regulation and audit process changes;
All future changes to safety regulations be made using a risk based approach;
Implementation of a clearly defined and documented change management system to track any changes made to key safety and compliance processes;
Establishment of a joint working group between CASA and industry to work on future regulatory requirements for aerodromes;
Development of training programs in the areas of airport and airport operations;
Separation of responsibilities for the policy making and regulation of aerodromes;
The timely release of safety reports into incidents that have occurred;
Increased capacity for CASA to approve or not approve developments that could impact on airport safety;
An increase in staffing levels for the Aerodromes section of CASA to meet growing industry demands; and
The increase of the CASA board to eight members and to include experienced aviation industry professionals.

The AAA’s full submission to the aviation safety review can be viewed at https://airports.asn.au/policy/submissions/