(1)

Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 establishes the essential requirements for the safe provision of ground handling services by organisations providing ground handling services and aircraft operators performing self-handling.

(2)

Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 (2) lays down technical requirements and administrative procedures related to air operations, and among others, to instructions and procedures for personnel involved in ground operations, duties, responsibilities, and training of personnel involved in ground operations, and contracted activities of aircraft operators. Such technical requirements and administrative procedures should be updated, clarified, and aligned with the requirements on ground handling services and organisations providing them as laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20 (3).

(3)

To ensure a high level of civil aviation safety in the Union, this Regulation should reflect the state of the art and best practices in the field of ground handling; take into account the applicable International Civil Aviation Organization Standards and Recommended Practices; and worldwide ground handling operation experience, as well as scientific and technical progress in the ground handling domain; be proportionate to the size and complexity of the ground handling activities; and provide for the necessary flexibility for customised compliance.

(4)

Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 should therefore be amended to accommodate the changes brought about by the provisions on ground handling laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20, both when these services are contracted to a third-party ground handling service provider and when they are performed as self-handling by aircraft operators of commercial air transport with complex motor-powered aircraft.

(5)

The ground handling requirements applicable to aircraft operators introduce new terms to define ground handling tasks and processes, and therefore new definitions should be added for these terms.

(6)

All organisations in the scope of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 are responsible for managing the safety risks and aim at to continuous improvement of safety, including mutual sharing of safety relevant information. The purpose is to ensure a common approach when addressing the safety risks of the interfaces in GH operations, beyond the occurrence reporting obligations. This approach would complete the occurrence reporting obligations to competent authorities and would ensure a more direct flow of safety information among the stakeholders concerned. Therefore, the rules should be amended to enable aircraft operators to share relevant safety information resulting from occurrence reports or oversight inspections and audits with other organisations to support them in maintaining safety of their own operations.

(7)

The essential requirements of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 mandate that organisations provide ground handling services in accordance with the operational instructions and procedures of the aircraft operators. The operational procedures for the same ground handling service applied to the same type of aircraft may differ significantly between aircraft operators, and this increases the risk of human error as it could lead to aircraft damage and endanger flight safety. Therefore, harmonisation of various operational procedures is essential for safe and efficient provision of ground handling services. This Regulation should enable the reduction as much as possible of the many different operational procedures for the same ground handling service applied to the same type of aircraft and ensure the harmonisation of those procedures. Since ground handling organisations are required to develop their own operational procedures for the provision of ground handling services, giving priority to safety and maintain a balance between safety and commercial pressure, the air operations rules should be amended to allow aircraft operators to agree that the ground handling organisation declaring its activity in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20 applies its own operational procedures for the provision of the ground handling services.

(8)

To ensure proportionality of scope and alignment with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20, only operators of aeroplanes performing commercial air transport operations with complex motor-powered aircraft when performing self-handling will be affected by the new responsibilities related to ground handling. The air operations rules should contain the necessary link to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20, thus avoiding any duplications. At the same time, the requirements should provide a safety baseline for the provision of ground handling services that are excluded from Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20 and remain under the full responsibility and control of the aircraft operator.

(9)

Aircraft operators are responsible for the performance of certain ground handling activities that remain under their full control and are not covered by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20. Such is the case of ground supervision when this activity is performed as a self-handling by any operator, with its own personnel, as well as certain phases of the load control process, namely mass and balance calculations, load planning, issuance of mass and balance documents, and related communications, regardless of whether these activities are performed as a self-handling or outsourced as contracted services. The air operations rules should be amended to clarify the operator’s responsibilities concerning these ground handling activities.

(10)

The training programme for ground handling personnel of the aircraft operators performing self-handling should also be included in their operations manual without any approval by the competent authority. However, in order to ensure equal treatment for all organisations providing ground handling services, the training programme included in the operations manual should only be subject to verification during the regular oversight activities. The relevant air operations requirement should be amended accordingly to reflect this equal treatment.

(11)

Load control is a ground handling process that is both safety-critical and complex. The load control process consists of several phases and implies clear allocation of tasks and responsibilities among persons involved in their performance. Mass and balance calculations, load planning, issuance of mass and balance documents and related communications are parts of the load control process that remain in full control and responsibility of the aircraft operator, as being entirely based on data provided by the aircraft manufacturer and aircraft operator. Although this process is already known to aircraft operators and applied as part of their operational control system, the current rules do not clearly define the load control process and do not identify the various tasks and responsibilities of the persons performing these activities. Since the phases of the load control process identified above may be performed either by the aircraft operator as self-handling or contracted to a third-party ground handling organisation, it is important that the rules provide clarity and legal certainty in this respect, as well as a level playing field for all organisations performing these activities. The air operations requirements should be amended to ensure that the load control functions and responsibilities of the persons involved are identified and described in the operations manual of the aircraft operator.

(12)

The requirements laid down in this Regulation are based on Opinion No 01/2024 (4) issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (‘the Agency’) in accordance with Article 75(2) points (b) and (c) and Article 76(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.

(13)

It is necessary to provide sufficient time for the ground handling industry and competent authorities to implement the new regulatory framework after the entry into force of this Regulation, therefore a transition period of 3 years should be provided in this Regulation.

(14)

The requirements laid down in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for the application of common safety rules in the field of civil aviation established by Article 127 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139,