The legal basis for commercial air transport carried out by companies based in Austria is provided by Regulations (EU) 2018/1139 and in particular (EU) No 965/2012 as amended.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008, the operator shall apply for and obtain an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) with the competent authority prior to starting commercial air transport operations (ORO.AOC.100 - Application for an Air Operator Certificate).
In addition, an operating licence shall be obtained from the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) in accordance with the requirements laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008. Without such a licence, no passengers, mail and/or freight may be transported in commercial operations. Ultralight aircraft, balloons, sailplanes and scenic flights are exempted.
The application for the initial issue of an Air Operator Certificate should be submitted to the authority at least 90 days before the intended start date of operation. The operations manual may be submitted later, but in any case not later than 60 days before the intended start date of commercial operation. (AMC1 ORO.AOC.100 - Application for an Air Operator Certificate).
For further information on the individual phases please refer to OIL 13/2014.
Any change of an AOC and/or the related operations specifications (Ops Specs) is subject to approval. Applications should be submitted at least 30 days before the intended start of operations. The corresponding forms can be found in the National Operational Directives / Notices and the Operations Information Letter.
The continued oversight of a CAT operator by the aviation authority is intended to contribute to the safety of operations and to ensure that the applicable legal regulations are complied with.
The following procedures are used to exercise oversight:
- Audits
- Inspections
- Other reviews
In addition to the scheduled oversight of CAT operators, the above-mentioned procedures may also be applied due to specific events at the discretion of the authority.
An AOC (Air Operator Certificate) only remains valid if the conditions leading to its issue continue to be met. Should one or several of these conditions no longer be given or findings not be corrected, the AOC will become completely or partially invalid. In this context, special attention is paid to whether safe operations can be demonstrated and the relevant legal regulations are complied with. If no corrective action is taken for the findings identified, the entire commercial air transport operations will be terminated or restricted accordingly, or a decision on the invalidity of the AOC may be issued.
Certain organisations have an approval to issue cabin crew attestations in accordance with CC.CCA.100 lit (b) Z (2) of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011. To get this approval, the applicant must have passed the examination following completion of the initial training course in accordance with CC.TRA.220.