ARO.OPS.225 Approval of fuel/energy schemes – aeroplanes and helicopters

OVERSIGHT — VERIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE OF FUEL SCHEMES FOR CAT OPERATIONS WITH AEROPLANES

(a)When approving a basic fuel scheme, the competent authority should be satisfied that the operator fulfils the applicable criteria of point CAT.OP.MPA.180(a)(3)(i), taking into account the elements contained in the AMC applicable to the basic fuel scheme.

(b)When approving a basic fuel scheme with variations, the competent authority should be satisfied that the operator fulfils the applicable criteria of point CAT.OP.MPA.180(a)(3)(ii), taking into account the elements contained in the AMC applicable to the variation.

(c)When approving an individual fuel scheme that deviates, fully or partly, from the basic fuel scheme, the competent authority should be satisfied that the operator fulfils the applicable criteria of point CAT.OP.MPA.180(a)(3)(iii), taking into account the elements contained in the AMC applicable to the individual fuel scheme. Before issuing the approval of an individual fuel scheme, the competent authority should verify the following:

(1)the maturity, capability, and suitability of the operator’s management system;

(2)the adequacy of this system for exercising operational control;

(3)the adequacy of the operator’s SOPs;

(4)the resolution of significant findings in the areas that support the application of the individual fuel scheme;

(5)the suitability of the communications and navigation equipment of the aircraft fleet to which the individual fuel scheme will apply;

(6)the areas of operation where the individual fuel scheme will be used;

(7)the operator’s ability to provide reliable and accurate aircraft-specific fuel data;

(8)the suitability of the relevant training programmes, including those for flight crew and operational control personnel;

(9)the experience of the personnel concerned, particularly of the flight crew, in the use of the procedures and systems that support the individual fuel scheme;

(10)any low-fuel events (including emergency fuel conditions) in the operator’s safety records; and

(11)the maintenance of the fleet in terms of reliability of the fuel system, including the accuracy of the fuel-measurement systems.

OPERATIONS TO AN ISOLATED AERODROME — GENERAL The use of an isolated aerodrome exposes both the aircraft and passengers to a greater risk than in operations where a destination alternate aerodrome is available. The competent authority should, therefore, assess whether all possible means are applied to mitigate that greater risk.

ASSESSMENT AND OVERSIGHT OF POLICIES ASSOCIATED WITH FUEL SCHEMES The competent authority’s assessment and oversight of: the fuel planning and in-flight re-planning policy; the selection-of-aerodromes policy; and the in-flight fuel management policy may follow a two-step process: firstly, assess and oversee each policy individually, and secondly, and more importantly, assess and oversee all the policies together. The competent authority should be satisfied with regard to the following: the robustness of the operator’s management system, particularly with regard to safety risk management; and in case of basic fuel schemes with variations and individual fuel schemes, the operator’s processes for performance monitoring and measurement.

APPROVAL OF INDIVIDUAL FUEL SCHEMES — QUALIFICATION OF PERSONNEL

(a)In accordance with point ARO.GEN.200(a)(2), the competent authority is required to have qualified personnel to perform the tasks under their responsibility. To approve individual fuel schemes, the competent authority’s inspectors should have the necessary knowledge and expertise to understand, monitor, and validate the criteria of point (c) of AMC1 ARO.OPS.225.

(b)For this purpose, the inspectors should be able to understand the relevance and meaningfulness of the operator’s safety performance indicators (SPIs), targets, and means by which these targets are achieved.

(c)The competent authority should develop guidance to be used by its inspectors when approving and verifying individual fuel schemes.

APPROVAL OF INDIVIDUAL FUEL SCHEMES — APPLICATION OF INDIVIDUAL FUEL SCHEMES — GUIDANCE TO PERSONNEL According to points ARO.GEN.115 and ARO.GEN.200(a)(1), the competent authority is required to develop guidance on the application of individual fuel schemes to be used by its inspectors. Such guidance should cover the following:

(a)the operator’s responsibilities:

(1)operational control systems (organisational control over internal processes);

(2)policies and procedures;

(3)qualified personnel:

(i)competence and experience of both flight crew and operational control personnel; and

(ii)their training;

(4)SOP compliance and suitability;

(5)monitoring of the effectiveness of individual fuel scheme processes; and

(6)continuous improvement;

(b)operational characteristics:

(1)of the aircraft: current aircraft-specific data derived from a fuel consumption monitoring system; and

(2)of the area of operations:

(i)aerodrome technologies;

(ii)meteorological information capabilities;

(iii)ATM infrastructure; and

(iv)aerodrome capabilities and ATS characteristics;

(3)a suitable computerised flight plan;

(4)flight monitoring or flight watch capabilities, as applicable;

(5)communications systems: ground-based and airborne systems;

(6)navigation systems: ground-based and airborne systems; and

(7)reliable meteorological and aerodrome information; and

(c)safety risk management:

(1)agreed SPIs;

(2)risk register;

(3)identification of hazards;

(4)risk monitoring; and

(5)compliance monitoring. When collecting statistically relevant data, the competent authority inspectors should consider the specificities of the operations of each operator. As a minimum, the data should be collected for a period of 2 years. Note: Further guidance is provided in ICAO Doc 9976 Flight Planning and Fuel Management (FPFM) Manual, Appendix 7 to Chapter 5 A performance-based approach job-aid for an approving authority (1st Edition, 2015).

INDIVIDUAL FUEL SCHEMES — RESOLUTION OF SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS The approval of an individual fuel scheme may be rejected, suspended or revoked when the operator has not resolved the relevant findings, or when there are unacceptable open findings that affect the areas that support individual fuel schemes (e.g. operational control, safety management system, safety risk assessment processes, availability of data, SPIs, pilot training, etc.).