Operator Supervision and Certification — Page 25, Lesson 42

Let’s start with the most important person in the operation when it comes to the Air Operator Certificate, or AOC — that’s the Accountable Manager. This is a person nominated by the operator and acceptable to the Authority — the national aviation authority. The Accountable Manager is effectively responsible to that Authority for making sure everything required for the AOC is complied with. Specifically, the Accountable Manager must ensure that all operations and maintenance activities can be both financed and carried out to the standard the Authority requires. So this isn’t just a figurehead — they carry real accountability for financial viability and operational standards. Now, the operator also has to appoint other key post holders, and these must also be acceptable to the Authority. There are four specific posts listed: the Flight Operations manager, the Maintenance System manager, the Crew Training manager, and the Ground Operations manager. A single person can hold more than one of these posts, but only if the Authority agrees. However, there’s a rule based on company size: if the operator has 21 or more full-time employees, then a minimum of two persons are required to fill those four positions. For operators with less than 20 full-time employees, the Accountable Manager themselves may fill one or more of those posts — again, only if the Authority finds that arrangement acceptable. Next, let’s talk about the Main Operating Base. The Authority will require that full operational support facilities are established and maintained at the main operating base, and those facilities must be appropriate to the area and type of operations being conducted. For example, the main operating base of British Airways is London Heathrow, but because of the extensive nature of their operation, many company and operational activities are duplicated at other aerodromes around the world. Now, regarding the aeroplanes themselves — the aircraft an operator uses must have a standard Certificate of Airworthiness, or CofA, issued in accordance with ICAO Annex 8 by a JAA member state. If the CofA is issued by a JAA member state that is not the state of the operator, it will still be accepted, provided it was issued in accordance with CS-21, which is the certification specification. Finally, there are other considerations that the operator must satisfy before the Authority grants or varies an AOC. The operator must demonstrate that: the organization and operation can be established and maintained to a standard acceptable to the Authority; a quality system as defined in CS-OPS 1.035 is established and maintained; the defined training programmes are complied with; and the aircraft maintenance requirements are complied with. So these are the baseline conditions that must be met before the AOC is issued or changed.