Guernsey Airport achieves EASA certification in under a year

Guernsey Airport has successfully achieved certification of its Air Navigation Services and Air Traffic Controller Training Organisation issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and the first organisation to complete the certification process in under a year.  

Guernsey Airport is only the second entity outside the European Union to achieve this EASA certification. This status complements established regulatory oversight of Guernsey Airport by other Competent Authorities.

Project Lead and Head of Safety and Compliance – Ports, Ross Coppolo said:

“Our team have worked very hard in the last ten months to deliver this highly ambitious project which we have been advised normally takes around two years to achieve. The transition means the Air Navigation Services provided by Guernsey Airport continues to comply with relevant European Union (EU) Regulations. It is a testament to the professionalism of all staff involved in this project to ensure ongoing compliance with EU legislation. All stakeholders and customers should continue to have full confidence in the new regime that Guernsey Airport is now using for the safe movement of aircraft.”

Ports of Jersey on behalf of the French Authorities, operates the Channel Island Control Zone (CICZ), which is a piece of airspace block within the Brest flight information region. As the services are provided in French Airspace, both Jersey, and now Guernsey, have had to transition to EASA oversight who are the designated Competent Authority for such service provisions.

It means the Air Navigation Services originating in Guernsey have now moved to full EASA regulatory oversight. 

The Channel Islands Director of Civil Aviation (the DCA) Dominic Lazarus said: 

“Obtaining certification is a remarkable achievement and the project team at Guernsey Airport should be very proud of getting this EASA status. To achieve this level of accreditation in under a year is impressive. The project team at Guernsey Airport should be very proud of themselves, especially in the Airport’s eightieth birthday year. Airport customers and the public should not dismiss this milestone. This new EASA certification will now underpin how these important services for Bailiwick aviation are inspected, and developed in the years to come.”

EASA’s ATM/ANS Standards, Implementation and Oversight Section Manager, Manfred Dieroff said:

“Following the application for organisational approval in July 2018, EASA performed a series of audits with the conclusion that Guernsey Airport is compliant with the EU Regulations applicable to Air Navigation Service providers. With this certification, Guernsey Airport is able to provide its customers with EASA approved ATS (Air Traffic Services) and CNS (Communications, Navigation and Surveillance) within the Brest Flight Information Region.”

Manager of Air Traffic Control at Guernsey Airport, Leah Jeffreys said:

“Achieving EASA certification is a significant step for the long term sustainability of the Bailiwick’s air navigation services. Our Air Traffic Control Unit have worked extremely hard to get this ambitious project completed on top of their normal ‘business as usual’ activities. Changing from the UK CAA to EASA oversight presents new challenges that my team have fully embraced and tenaciously delivered in a short space of time for a project of this scale and complexity.”

As part of this process, Guernsey Airport took the opportunity to obtain ISO 9001:2015 accreditation, which has been independently certificated by British Standards International (BSI). That entailed a series of rigorous audits to determine Guernsey Airport’s Quality Management System for its Air Navigation Services fully complies with the requirements of the international ISO 9001 quality management system standard.

Picture: Guernsey Airport.