Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/357 of 4 March 2020 amending Regulation (EU) 2018/395 as regards balloon pilot licences (Text with EEA relevance)

‘1 This Regulation lays down detailed rules for air operations with balloons as well as for issuing and maintaining pilot licences and associated ratings, privileges and certificates for balloons, where such aircraft meet the conditions laid down in points (b)(i) and (ii) of Article (2)(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council .

‘2 Operators of balloons shall engage in commercial operations only after having declared to the competent authority their capacity and means to discharge the responsibilities associated with the operation of the balloon.’;

1 Without prejudice to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) , pilots of aircraft referred to in Article 1(1) of this Regulation shall comply with the technical requirements and administrative procedures laid down in Annex III (Part-BFCL) to this Regulation and in Annex IV (Part-MED) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011.

2 As an exception to the privileges of the holders of licences as defined in Annex III (Part-BFCL) to this Regulation, holders of such licences may carry out flights referred to in Article 3(2)(a) to (d) without complying with point BFCL.215 of Annex III (Part-BFCL) to this Regulation.

3 A Member State may authorise student pilots who follow a balloon pilot licence (“BPL”) training course to exercise limited privileges without supervision before they meet all the requirements that are necessary for the issue of a BPL in accordance with Annex III (Part-BFCL), subject to all of the following conditions: (a) the scope of the privileges granted shall be based on a safety risk assessment carried out by the Member State, taking into account the extent of training necessary for the intended level of pilot competence to be achieved; (b) the privileges shall be limited to the following: (i) the whole or part of the national territory of the authorising Member State; (ii) balloons that are registered in the authorising Member State; (c) the holder of such an authorisation who applies for the issue of a BPL shall receive credits for training conducted under the authorisation on the basis of a recommendation from an approved training organisation (“ATO”) or a declared training organisation (“DTO”); (d) the Member State shall submit reports and safety risk assessments to the Commission and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency every 3 years; (e) the Member State shall monitor the use of authorisations issued under this paragraph to ensure an acceptable level of aviation safety and take appropriate action in case of identifying an increased safety risk or any safety concerns.

1 Part-FCL licences for balloons and associated privileges, ratings and certificates issued by a Member State before the date of application of this Regulation shall be deemed to have been issued in accordance with this Regulation. Member States shall replace those licences with licences that comply with the format laid down in Annex VI (Part-ARA) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 when they reissue licences for administrative reasons or upon a request of licence holders.

2 When a Member State reissues licences and associated privileges, ratings and certificates in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, the Member State shall, as applicable: (a) transfer all privileges already endorsed in Part-FCL licences to the new licence format; (b) convert the privileges for tethered flight or commercial operation associated with a Part-FCL licence into a tethered flight rating or a commercial operation rating in accordance with the provisions of Point BFCL.200 and BFCL.215 of Annex III (Part-BFCL) to this Regulation; (c) endorse the expiry date of a flight instructor certificate associated with a Part-FCL licence into the pilot’s logbook or issue an equivalent document. After that date, those pilots shall exercise instructor privileges only if they comply with point BFCL.360 of Annex III (Part-BFCL) to this Regulation.

3 Holders of national licences for balloons issued by a Member State before the date of application of Annex III (Part-BFCL) to this Regulation shall be allowed to continue to exercise the privileges of their licences until 8 April 2021. By that date, Member States shall convert those licences into Part-BFCL licences and associated ratings, privileges and certificates in accordance with the elements laid down in a conversion report that complies with the requirements of Article 4(4) and (5) of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011.

4 National pilot medical certificates associated with a licence as specified in paragraph 2 of this Article and issued by a Member State before the date of application of Annex III (Part-BFCL) to this Regulation shall remain valid until the date of their next revalidation or until 8 April 2021, whichever is the earliest. The revalidation of those medical certificates shall comply with the requirements of Annex IV (Part-MED) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011.

1 In respect of issuing Part-BFCL licences and associated privileges, ratings or certificates in accordance with Annex III (Part-BFCL) to this Regulation, training that commenced prior to the date of application of this Regulation in accordance with Annex I (Part-FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of this Regulation, provided that the BPL is issued by 8 April 2021 at the latest. In that case, the following shall apply: (a) BPL training commenced on balloons representing the hot-air airship class, including the related testing, may be completed on those balloons; (b) training hours completed in the hot-air balloon class in balloons other than group A of that balloon class shall be fully credited towards the requirement in point BFCL.130(b) of Annex III.

2 Training that commenced prior to the date of application of this Regulation or of Annex I (Part-FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, in accordance with Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention, shall be credited for the purposes of issuing Part-BFCL licences on the basis of a credit report established by the Member State in consultation with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

3 The credit report referred to in paragraph 2 shall describe the scope of the training, indicate for which requirements of Part-BFCL credit is given and, if applicable, which requirements applicants need to comply with in order to be issued with a Part-BFCL licence. It shall include copies of all the documents necessary to attest the scope of the training, as well as copies of the national regulations and procedures in accordance with which the training was initiated.

1 Training organisations for pilot licences referred to in Article 1(1) shall comply with the requirements of Article 10a of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011.

2 Training organisations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article which hold an approval issued in accordance with Annex VII (Part-ORA) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 or have submitted a declaration in accordance with Annex VIII (Part-DTO) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 before the date of application of this Regulation shall adapt their training programmes, where necessary, by 8 April 2021 at the latest.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 8 April 2020.