Britain Sticks With European Approvals

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has continued to adapt to its post-Brexit status outside the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) by revising a bilateral maintenance agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Given the magnitude of the CAA’s task to set itself up as an independent safety regulator, it is no surprise to see it extend the period it will accept existing EASA approvals.

UK and U.S. aviation regulators have updated the Maintenance Implementation Procedures (MIP) for the approval and monitoring of maintenance and modification facilities to include a transition period for U.S.-based organizations until Dec. 31, 2024.

The move has parallels with other areas in which the UK is struggling to distance itself from European Union (EU) regulation. A push to develop the country’s own product safety mark has now been delayed three times, with the validity of the EU’s ‘CE’ quality mark now also to be accepted until the end of 2024.

The UK CAA and the FAA will also update the Maintenance Agreement Guidance (MAG), relating to the certification of repair stations and approved maintenance organizations.

Both MIP and MAG were first signed in 2020, following the UK’s exit from the EU, under an existing Bilateral Safety Agreement from 1995.

In 2020, an initial transition period of two years was introduced in which the UK CAA continued to accept EASA maintenance releases from U.S.-based organizations until a maintenance approval was obtained in the UK.

The extension means both parties can continue to provide maintenance services for UK-registered aircraft using an FAA/EASA dual release during the transition period.

The UK CAA recommends that U.S.-based organizations apply for and obtain a UK CAA approval when they renew their EASA Part 145 approval or before Dec. 31, 2024 at the latest.