The Public Consultation n. 09/2020 (the “Consultation”), which is being conducted by ANAC, in accordance with the procedures established by the legislation in force, has the purpose of (i) to discuss the amendment to the Brazilian Civil Aviation Regulation (“RBAC”) no. 153, entitled “Aerodromes – operation, maintenance and emergency response”; (ii) to revise Supplementary Instruction n. 153.205-001, Revision A, entitled “Guidelines for performing the volumetric sand-spotting type test and for reporting operating condition measurements”; and (iii) issue Supplementary Instruction n. 153.203-001, Revision A, entitled “Pavement functional condition assessment.”
The issues addressed in Public Consultation n. 09/2020 were the subject of a study conducted by the 7th Deliberative Meeting of the 2019-2020 Regulatory Agenda, in which the need to fill some normative “gaps” identified in the regulations was noted.
Specifically with regard to the text of RBAC n. 153, one of the points raised refers to the necessary complementation of paragraph 153.203(b)(1)(i), which, although it requires a certain conduct by the aerodrome operator, namely, the maintenance of structural and functional conditions of the operational area “as accepted by ANAC”, does not make it clear what would be the standards accepted by the Regulator for the operator’s compliance with this requirement. The objective of this measure is to regulate the methodology applied by ANAC and standardize the inspection and assessment requirements to be used by the Regulator, bringing greater security to the aerodrome operator, who will now have full knowledge regarding the standards to be developed and complied with for the faithful compliance with RBAC n. 153.
Regarding the functional assessment of airport sidewalk, the main point of the consultation, it was suggested to use the method known as Pavement Condition Index ( “PVI”) for aerodrome classes IB to IV of RBAC n. 153. Among the main benefits to the application of PVI, the following stand out: (i) the alignment with the various international bodies that deal with the matter; (ii) the differential treatment between more and less complex aerodromes, by their different classes and the frequency of functional assessment of the sidewalk; and (iii) the monitoring of the entire paved area, amplifying the range of areas to be monitored.
It should also be noted that those interested in responding to this consultation should send their comments to ANAC by July 3, 2020.
The Aeronautical Law team at DDSA – De Luca, Derenusson, Schuttoff Advogados will continue to monitor the progress of Public Consultation n. 09/2020 and to update our customers and partners on this subject.