ORO.AOC.115 Code-share agreements

INITIAL VERIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE

(a)In order to verify the third country operator’s compliance with the applicable ICAO standards, in particular ICAO Annexes 1, 2, 6, Part I and III, as applicable, 8 and 18, the EU operator should conduct an audit of the third country operator, including interviews of personnel and inspections carried out at the third country operator’s facilities.

(b)The audit should focus on the operational, management and control systems of the operator.

CODE-SHARE AUDIT PROGRAMME

(a)Operators should establish a code-share audit programme for monitoring continuous compliance of the third country operator with the applicable ICAO standards. Such a code-share audit programme should include:

(1)the audit methodology (audit report + compliance statements);

(2)details of the specific operational areas to audit;

(3)criteria for defining satisfactory audit results;

(4)a system for reporting and correcting findings;

(5)a continuous monitoring system;

(6)auditor qualification and authorisation; and

(7)the frequency of audits.

(b)The third country code-share operator should be audited at periods not exceeding 24 months. The beginning of the first 24-month oversight planning cycle is determined by the date of the first audit and should then determine the start and end dates of the recurrent 24-month planning cycle. The interval between two audits should not exceed 24 months.

(c)The EU operator should ensure a renewal audit of each third country code-share operator prior to the audit expiry date of the previous audit. The audit expiry date for the previous audit becomes the audit effective date for the renewal audit provided the closing meeting for the renewal audit is within 150 days prior to the audit expiry date for the previous audit. If the closing meeting for the renewal audit is more than 150 days prior to the audit expiry date from the previous audit, then the audit effective date for the renewal audit is the day of the closing meeting of the renewal audit. Renewal audits are valid for 24 consecutive months beginning with the audit effective date and ending with the audit expiry date.

(d)A code-share audit could be shared by several operators. In case of a shared audit, the report should be made available for review by all duly identified sharing operators by any means.

(e)After closure of all findings identified during the audit, the EU operator should submit an audit compliance statement to the competent authority demonstrating that the third country operator meets all the applicable safety standards.

THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS

(a)The initial audit and/or the continuous monitoring may be performed by a third-party provider on behalf of the EU operator in accordance with AMC2 ORO.GEN.205 on contracted activities.

(b)The use of a third-party provider for the initial audit or the monitoring of continuous compliance of the third-country code-share operator does not exempt the EU operator from its responsibility under ORO.AOC.115.

(c)The EU operator should maintain a list of the third country code-share operators monitored by the third-party provider. This list and the full audit report prepared by the third-party provider should be made available to the competent authority upon request.