From: AirTrafficManagement.net
by Aimee Turner
EASA has embarked on a comprehensive listening exercise to explore extending its remit to allow for a more comprehensive and uniform approach to safety regulation – one which starts from the tarmac. Aimée Turner interviews the agency’s chief Patrick Ky
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ATM What would be the possible scope of any future extended role, in what new areas would EASA be active?
PK There are a lot of things that are not controversial and make a lot of sense because of a need to have a safety regulator where there is not one today.
It was for example a surprise to me when I arrived at EASA to discover that de-icing procedures were not part of the safety scope when it is an essential safety action.
Those areas are no-brainers. But then there are those topics that are a little more difficult such as security. We obviously do a lot in the field of security when for example we are certifying an aircraft which is an essential activity for EASA. We have to ensure those aircraft are protected against cyber security attacks, for example.
We also deal with a lot of security items such as cockpit doors and dangerous goods where we look at both safety and security. So there is a grey area here and to be honest if we don’t do anything to resolve issue within those grey areas, no one else is going to do it. So I would prefer to do it rather than leaving a potential risk there without anyone addressing it.
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