ORO.AOC.135 Personnel requirements

NOMINATED PERSONS

(a)The person may hold more than one of the nominated posts if such an arrangement is considered suitable and properly matched to the scale and scope of the operation.

(b)A description of the functions and the responsibilities of the nominated persons, including their names, should be contained in the operations manual.

(c)The holder of an AOC should make arrangements to ensure continuity of supervision in the absence of nominated persons.

(d)The person nominated by the holder of an AOC should not be nominated by another holder of an AOC, unless agreed with the competent authorities concerned.

(e)Persons nominated should be contracted to work sufficient hours to fulfil the management functions associated with the scale and scope of the operation.

COMBINATION OF NOMINATED PERSONS RESPONSIBILITIES

(a)The acceptability of a single person holding several posts, possibly in combination with being the accountable manager, should depend upon the nature and scale of the operation. The two main areas of concern should be competence and an individual’s capacity to meet his/her responsibilities.

(b)As regards competence in different areas of responsibility, there should not be any difference from the requirements applicable to persons holding only one post.

(c)The capacity of an individual to meet his/her responsibilities should primarily be dependent upon the scale of the operation. However, the complexity of the organisation or of the operation may prevent, or limit, combinations of posts which may be acceptable in other circumstances.

(d)In most circumstances, the responsibilities of a nominated person should rest with a single individual. However, in the area of ground operations, it may be acceptable for responsibilities to be split, provided that the responsibilities of each individual concerned are clearly defined.

NOMINATED PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF THE CONTRACT WITH A CAMO PURSUANT TO POINT M.A.201(ea) If the operator concludes a contract with a CAMO pursuant to point M.A.201(ea) of Annex I (Part-M) to Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014, the person nominated by the operator in accordance with point ORO.AOC.135(a)(4) is responsible for the management and supervision of the continuing airworthiness management contract that is required by Appendix I to Part-M. This person should not be employed by the contracted CAMO to avoid conflict of interest. In addition, this person should have the following:

(a)practical experience and expertise in the application of aviation safety standards and safe operating practices;

(b)comprehensive knowledge of:

(i)the relevant parts of operational requirements and procedures;

(ii)the air operator certificate (AOC) holder’s operations specifications;

(iii)the relevant parts of the AOC holder’s operations manual; and

(iv)the relevant parts of the continuing airworthiness management exposition (CAME) of the contracted CAMO;

(c)knowledge of:

(i)human factors (HF) principles; and

(ii)safety management system (SMS) based on the EU management system requirements (including compliance monitoring) and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 19;

(d)5 years of relevant work experience, of which at least 2 years in an appropriate position in the aeronautical industry;

(e)a relevant engineering or technical degree, or an aircraft maintenance technician qualification with additional education that is acceptable to the competent authority; this condition may be replaced by 3 years of experience in addition to those specified in point (d); those 3 years should include an appropriate combination of experience in tasks related to aircraft maintenance and/or continuing airworthiness management and/or surveillance of such tasks;

(f)thorough knowledge of:

(i)the continuing airworthiness management contract;

(ii)the organisation’s management systems’ interfaces; and

(iii)the way of achieving harmonisation of those management systems;

(g)knowledge of a relevant sample of the type(s) of aircraft operated by the organisation, which is gained through a formalised training course; such a course should be at least at a level equivalent to Part-66 (Annex III to Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014), Appendix III, Level 1 ‘General Familiarisation’ and may be provided by a Part-147 (Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014) organisation, by the manufacturer, by the CAMO, or by any other organisation that is accepted by the competent authority; ‘relevant sample’ means that the related course should cover typical aircraft and aircraft systems that are operated by the organisation; and

(h)knowledge of Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014.

NOMINATED PERSONS The smallest organisation that can be considered is the one-man organisation where all of the nominated posts are filled by the accountable manager, and audits are conducted by an independent person.

COMPETENCE OF NOMINATED PERSONS

(a)Nominated persons in accordance with ORO.AOC.135 should be expected to possess the experience and meet the qualification provisions of (b) to (f) respectively. Exceptionally, in particular cases, where the nominated person does not meet these provisions in full, the nominee should have comparable experience and also the ability to perform effectively the functions associated with the post and with the scale of the operation.

(b)Nominated persons for flight operations, crew training and ground operations should have:

(1)practical experience and expertise in the application of aviation safety standards and safe operating practices;

(2)comprehensive knowledge of:

(i)the applicable EU safety regulations and any associated requirements and procedures;

(ii)the AOC holder's operations specifications; and

(iii)the need for, and content of, the relevant parts of the AOC holder's operations manual;

(3)familiarity with management systems preferably in the area of aviation;

(4)appropriate management experience, preferably in a comparable organisation; and

(5)5 years of relevant work experience of which at least 2 years should be from the aeronautical industry in an appropriate position.

(c)Flight operations. The nominated person should hold or have held a valid flight crew licence and the associated ratings appropriate to a type of operation conducted under the AOC. In case the nominated person’s licence and ratings are not current, his/her deputy should hold a valid flight crew licence and the associated ratings.

(d)Crew training. The nominated person or his/her deputy should be a current type rating instructor on a type/class operated under the AOC. The nominated person should have a thorough knowledge of the AOC holder’s crew training concept for flight, cabin and when relevant other crew.

(e)Ground operations. The nominated person should have a thorough knowledge of the AOC holder’s ground operations concept. [applicable until 26 March 2028 — ED Decision 2022/017/R]

(e)Ground operations. The nominated person should have a thorough knowledge of the AOC holder’s ground operations concept and be familiar with the requirements of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20 applicable to their operations. [applicable from 27 March 2028 — ED Decision 2025/008/R]

(f)Continuing airworthiness. The nominated person for continuing airworthiness or for the continuing airworthiness management contract, as the case may be, should have the relevant knowledge, background and experience in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014. If a continuing airworthiness management organisation (CAMO) is contracted by the operator pursuant to point M.A.201(ea) of Annex I (Part-M) to Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014, please refer to AMC1 ORO.AOC.135(a)(4).

NOMINATED PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF THE CONTRACT WITH A CAMO PURSUANT TO POINT M.A.201(ea) If the operator concludes a contract with a CAMO pursuant to point M.A.201(ea) of Annex I (Part-M) to Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014, the person nominated by the operator in accordance with point ORO.AOC.135(a)(4) is responsible for ensuring that both the operator and CAMO fulfil their obligations as specified in the contract (which is established in accordance with Appendix I to Part-M). In the particular context of a single air carrier business grouping, that person is expected to apply critical thinking, to be impartial, and not complacent about the fact that the CAMO belongs to that business grouping.