ARGH.OVS.330 Cooperative oversight

(a)The competent authorities responsible for the oversight of organisations providing ground handling services in more than one Member State or at aerodromes that are under the oversight responsibility of more than one competent authority shall cooperate to ensure effective and efficient oversight of those organisations and their services. Those competent authorities shall ensure mutual exchange of information and assistance to complete their oversight tasks and responsibilities.

(b)The cooperative oversight shall cover the following organisations having their principal place of business in a Member State and providing ground handling services in more than one Member State or at aerodromes that are under the oversight responsibility of more than one competent authority:

(1)independent providers of ground handling services;

(2)self-handling aircraft operators that may or may not be part of a single air carrier business grouping.

(c)The mutual exchange of information shall cover the following elements:

(1)declarations of ground handling organisations and related documents to prove compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and its delegated and implementing acts;

(2)AltMoC used;

(3)audit reports, findings raised, corrective actions, corrective-action plans, root-cause analyses, and any other information on the relevant findings raised, follow-up actions, as well as any enforcement measures taken as a result of oversight;

(4)information stemming from mandatory and voluntary occurrence reporting as required by point ORGH.GEN.160 of Annex I to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20.

(d)The tasks for the oversight of a ground handling organisation referred to in point (b) shall be assigned in accordance with points (e) and (f).

(e)The competent authority of the Member State where the organisation has its principal place of business shall verify all the following elements listed in Annexes I and II to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20, either on its own or supported by any of the other competent authorities concerned, followed by inspections of ground handling activities performed at aerodromes in its State, to verify that the implementation of the organisation’s management system elements is performed as documented:

(1)the organisation’s management system elements referred to in point ORGH.MGM.200 of Annex I to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20 relating to the organisational structure, processes, programmes and procedures applicable to the ground handling organisation as a whole;

(2)safety policies and processes, safety management system, including hazard identification, risk assessment and mitigation, including mitigation of safety risks specific to the operational context at the aerodrome(s) subject to oversight;

(3)the safety and occurrence reporting process and the reports related to the provision of ground handling services at the aerodrome(s) subject to oversight;

(4)the management of changes and the declaration;

(5)the compliance monitoring function;

(6)the record-keeping and documentation system, including the ground handling manual;

(7)the ground handling training programmes, including the training records;

(8)the GSE maintenance programme;

(9)any other overarching organisational processes, programmes and procedures within the scope of its declaration and applicable to the organisation as a whole.

(f)Each competent authority of the Member States where the organisation provides ground handling services, other than the Member State where its principal place of business is located, shall oversee the safe provision of services at the stations in their Member State, by verifying the actual implementation of:

(1)the organisation’s management system elements referred to in point ORGH.MGM.200 of Annex I to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20, particularly relating to the ground handling organisation’s activities at the station under its oversight:

(i)the organisational structure referred to in point ORGH.MGM.200(b)(1) of Annex I to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20 and the ground handling activities;

(ii)hazard identification;

(iii)the risk assessment and mitigation, including mitigation of safety risks specific to the provision of services at the station(s) subject to oversight;

(iv)the content of the ground handling manual, including the procedures and instructions of the aircraft operators operating at the station(s) subject to oversight, as well as the procedures of the relevant aerodrome operator(s);

(v)training records and implementation of the training programme at the station(s) subject to oversight;

(vi)the GSE maintenance programme;

(vii)occurrence reports and internal safety reports relevant for the provision of ground handling services at the station(s) subject to oversight;

(2)the operational requirements of Annex II to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20.

(g)Each of the competent authorities referred to in points (e) and (f) shall:

(1)agree with the ground handling organisation on the proposed corrective-action plan and corrective actions to address the non-compliances identified at the station under their oversight;

(2)inform all the other competent authorities concerned on the audits and inspections reports and the corrective actions.

(3)In case of a level 1 finding raised to an organisation referred to in point (b), the competent authority raising the finding shall immediately inform the other competent authorities concerned. Each of the competent authorities responsible for the oversight of that organisation shall assess whether and to what extent the finding affects the stations under its oversight. Each competent authority shall apply the most appropriate action it considers necessary to ensure, as the case may be, the closing of the non-compliance and remedy its consequences.

(4)In case of a level 1 finding raised on the lack of an accountable manager, the competent authority raising the finding shall immediately inform the other competent authorities concerned and they shall all apply the same action uniformly at all the stations under their oversight. They shall take any further enforcement measure necessary to ensure the closing of the non-compliance and remedy its consequences.

(h)All the competent authorities involved in the oversight of an organisation referred to in point (b) shall support the competent authority of the organisation’s principal place of business to periodically update the assessment of the safety performance of the organisation based on the oversight reports from individual stations in the other Member States.

(i)Any of the competent authorities responsible for the oversight of an organisation referred to in point (b) may support the competent authority of the Member State where the organisation has its principal place of business in performing the audits or inspections as specified in point (e).

(j)The competent authorities concerned shall establish procedures for the implementation of the cooperative oversight process to cover all the aspects detailed in points (a) to (i).

(k)The competent authorities shall use the repository of information established in accordance with Article 74 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 to access the documents and information referred to in point (c).