ORO.GEN.205 Contracted activities

RESPONSIBILITY WHEN CONTRACTING ACTIVITIES

(a)The operator may decide to contract certain activities to external organisations.

(b)A written agreement should exist between the operator and the contracted organisation clearly defining the contracted activities and the applicable requirements. [applicable until 26 March 2028 — ED Decision 2014/017/R]

(b)A written agreement should exist between the operator and the contracted organisation clearly defining the contracted activities, accountability for safety and authority, and the applicable requirements. In the case of ad hoc operations carried out without a prior ground handling agreement, ground handling services may be provided at short notice by the operator or the commander/pilot-in-command. [applicable from 27 March 2028 — ED Decision 2025/008/R]

(c)The contracted safety-related activities relevant to the agreement should be included in the operator's safety management and compliance monitoring programmes.

(d)The operator should ensure that the contracted organisation has the necessary authorisation or approval when required, and commands the resources and competence to undertake the task. [applicable until 26 March 2028 — ED Decision 2014/017/R]

(d)The operator should ensure that the contracted organisation has the necessary authorisation or approval when required, or that a ground handling organisation contracted to provide services at an EU aerodrome within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 operates under a declaration, and commands the resources and competence to undertake the activities. [applicable from 27 March 2028 — ED Decision 2025/008/R]

THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS

(a)The initial audit and/or the continuous monitoring of contracted organisations may be performed by a third-party provider on behalf of the operator when it is demonstrated that:

(1)a documented arrangement has been established with the third-party provider;

(2)the audit standards applied by the third-party provider address the scope of this Regulation in sufficient detail;

(3)the third-party provider uses an evaluation system, designed to assess the operational, management and control systems of the contracted organisation;

(4)the independence of the third-party provider, its evaluation system as well as the impartiality of the auditors is ensured;

(5)the auditors are appropriately qualified and have sufficient knowledge, experience and training, including on-the-job training, to perform their allocated tasks;

(6)audits are performed on-site;

(7)access to the relevant data and facilities is granted to the level of detail necessary to verify compliance with the applicable requirements;

(8)access to the full audit report is granted;

(9)procedures have been established for monitoring continuous compliance of the contracted organisation with the applicable requirements; and

(10)procedures have been established to notify the contracted organisation of any non-compliance with the applicable requirements, the corrective actions to be taken, the follow-up of these corrective actions, and closure of findings.

(b)The use of a third-party provider for the initial audit or the monitoring of continuous compliance of the contracted organisation does not exempt the operator from its responsibility under the applicable requirements.

(c)The operator should maintain a list of the contracted organisations 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.

GROUND HANDLING SERVICES When contracting a ground handling organisation that has declared its activities in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20, the operator should adopt a risk-based approach to comply with the requirements of point ORO.GEN.205. [applicable from 27 March 2028 — ED Decision 2025/008/R]

CONTRACTING — GENERAL

(a)Operators may decide to contract certain activities to external organisations for the provision of services related to areas such as:

(1)ground de-icing/anti-icing;

(2)ground handling;

(3)flight support (including performance calculations, flight planning, navigation database and dispatch);

(4)training; and

(5)manual preparation.

(b)Contracted activities include all activities within the operator’s scope of approval that are performed by another organisation either itself certified or authorised to carry out such activity or if not certified or authorised, working under the operator’s approval.

(c)The ultimate responsibility for the product or service provided by external organisations should always remain with the operator. [applicable until 26 March 2028 — ED Decision 2014/017/R]

(a)Operators may decide to contract certain activities to external organisations for the provision of services related to areas such as:

(1)ground handling, including but not limited to ground de-/anti-icing, fuelling, toilet and potable water services, aircraft cleaning and catering;

(2)flight support (including performance calculations, flight planning, navigation database and dispatch);

(3)training; and

(4)manual preparation.

(b)Contracted activities include all activities within the operator’s scope of approval that are performed by another organisation either itself certified, authorised or covered by a declaration to carry out such activity or, if not certified, authorised or declaring its activity, working under the operator’s approval.

(c)The ultimate responsibility for the product or service provided by external organisations always remains with the operator.

(d)Without affecting point (c), a ground handling organisation providing services to an operator is not exonerated from its own accountability and responsibility for the safe provision of ground handling services in compliance with the requirements of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20. [applicable from 27 March 2028 — ED Decision 2025/008/R]

RESPONSIBILITY WHEN CONTRACTING ACTIVITIES

(a)Regardless of the approval status of the contracted organisation, the contracting operator is responsible for ensuring that all contracted activities are subject to hazard identification and risk management, as required by ORO.GEN.200(a)(3), and to compliance monitoring, as required by ORO.GEN.200(a)(6).

(b)When the contracted organisation is itself certified or authorised to carry out the contracted activities, the operator’s compliance monitoring should at least check that the approval effectively covers the contracted activities and that it is still valid. [applicable until 26 March 2028 — ED Decision 2014/017/R]

(a)Regardless of the approval status of the contracted organisation, the contracting operator is responsible for ensuring that all contracted activities are subject to hazard identification and risk management, as required by point ORO.GEN.200(a)(3), and to compliance monitoring, as required by point ORO.GEN.200(a)(6).

(b)When the contracted organisation is itself certified or authorised to carry out the contracted activities, the operator’s compliance monitoring should at least check that the approval of the operator referred to in point ORO.GEN.205(b) effectively covers the contracted activities and that it is still valid.

(c)The risk-based approach of the operator regarding compliance monitoring of ground handling services provided by a third-party ground handling organisation referred to in AMC3 ORO.GEN.205 means that the scope and frequency of monitoring activities can be reduced and can focus on safety and operational issues, and the review of relevant reported occurrences and performance. The operator can take into account the results of the following verification methods:

(1)oversight performed by the competent authority of the ground handling organisation in accordance with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/23,

(2)industry audit programmes performed by other third parties on behalf of the operator,

(3)industry audit programmes performed by the aerodrome operator,

(4)industry audits performed by independent third parties for the purpose of the ground handling organisation’s compliance monitoring process,

(5)continued monitoring carried out by representatives of the operator at the aerodrome, as applicable. [applicable from 27 March 2028 — ED Decision 2025/008/R]