20SAB05 IFALPA GUIDANCE TO MAS ON ICAO STATE LETTER

SAFETY BULLETIN

20SAB05

06 April 2020

IFALPA Guidance to Member Associations on ICAO State Letter 11/55-20/50 – Operational Measures to ensure safe operations during the COVID-19 pandemic

On April 3, 2020 ICAO published State Letter 11/55-20/50 – Operational Measures to ensure safe operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the challenges faced by States due to the pandemic, flight crew and operators are facing difficulties complying with the validity period of their licenses and medical certificates in adherence with ICAO SARPs.

This State Letter was in response to measures that were being taken by States to address these challenges. The information provided in this Safety Bulletin is meant as guidance to help our members determine whether they are qualified to operate internationally for their operator.

BACKGROUND

ICAO SARPs Basic Information Under the Chicago Convention, States that comply with the minimum Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) as established in the Chicago Convention and its 19 Annexes, are automatically recognized by all other contracting States allowing for operations within the 193 Member States. If a State does not follow one of the SARPs, it is required to file a difference to the SARP with ICAO and that information is made available to all other States.

The ICAO SARPs do not limit a State from having different standards (higher or lower) for its own operators within its sovereign airspace but do provide for a harmonized minimum global standard to operate outside of their State. It is the responsibility of a State and its Operators to ensure that appropriate recognition of licenses and medical certificates are ensured before conducting any international operations - that means checking all States of overflight and the State of destination to ensure recognition of certificates/licenses that are not in compliance with ICAO SARPs.

ICAO has established a COVID-19 Contingency Related Differences (CCRD) website to facilitate the temporary filing of differences by States to certain SARPs in Annex 1 (Licensing) and Annex 6 (Operations) because they realize that States may have no alternative to keep their operations going during the pandemic crisis. Another critical part of this website is for States to indicate whether they will accept differences from other States that have implemented temporary measures. This is outlined in the State Letter and on the website and covers the period of now through March 31, 2021. It is important to note that ICAO can only post information that has been sent to it through official State channels and therefore is still lacking information from most States.

This Official information will be found by utilizing the CLICK HERE links on the CCRD at the bottom of the page (see below):

An Example of how to determine if your medical certificate will be accepted is here:

RESOURCES

• ICAO State Letter 11/55-20/50 – Operational Measures to ensure safe operations during the COVID-19 pandemic – https://www.icao.int/safety/COVID- 19OPS/Documents/050e.pdf.

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• ICAO Website addressing operational concerns during the COVID-19 crisis - https://www.icao.int/safety/COVID-19OPS/Pages/default.aspx - please note, this is still a work in progress. From here you can use the tab titled “States and Organization Links” to see what a given State has posted regarding operational contingency measures such as extensions. Be aware that not many States have published information for foreign operators in their sites.
• ICAO Website explaining the COVID-19 Contingency Related Differences (CCRD)
• https://www.icao.int/safety/COVID-19OPS/Pages/ccrd.aspx. This part of the Website will be the repository for all Temporary State Differences however, it is currently being populated with this information , therefor we suggest the step above in “States and Organization Links” until this section is brought up to date.
• If you have specific questions, please feel free to contact us at ifalpa@ifalpa.org and we will get back to you as soon as we are able.
• As the CCRD is further developed, IFALPA will update this SAB accordingly.

GUIDANCE FOR FLIGHT CREWS

What should you, as a Flight Crewmember, do during this crisis if you are approaching a normal date where you should renew your Medical Certificate or may be due for Recurrent Training to maintain the validity of your license?

• Determine what measures your State/Operator has established for Medical Certification and Licensing Validity during the crisis and comply. Check with your operator and/or https://www.icao.int/safety/COVID-19OPS/Pages/default.aspx.
• It would be advisable to have a copy of your State/Operator’s temporary measures with you when conducting international operations in the event you need to show them to another authority.
• Ensure that you and/or your Operator has checked the CCRD site to ensure that the States of overflight and destination will accept your medical certificate and license validity.
• Bring along a copy of this SAB so that you have the appropriate ICAO references and website available in case you need to look something up.
• Maintain the highest level of safety and professionalism by ensuring you are current for the operation. If in doubt, follow the channels available to you through your association to mitigate the risks.

©2020 The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations. This publication is provided for information purposes only, in all cases pilots should follow their company’s guidance and procedures. In the interest of flight safety, reproduction of this publication in whole or in part is encouraged. It may not be offered for sale or used commercially. All reprints must credit IFALPA.

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