GM1 ATM/ANS.EQMT.AR.A.030 ATM/ANS equipment directives

ATM/ANS EQUIPMENT DIRECTIVE IN CASE OF DISCONTINUATION OF DPO APPROVAL

Certificates of ATM/ANS equipment issued in accordance with Article 4 and declarations of design compliance of ATM/ANS equipment issued in accordance with Article 5 lose their validity in case the holder of the certificate/issuer of the declaration of design compliance is no longer compliant with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1769.

In the above situations, EASA would typically:

(a)       revoke the certificate or deregister the declaration of design compliance, as appropriate;

(b)       inform ATM/ANS providers that are users of the ATM/ANS equipment concerned and their competent authorities, as in the absence of an approved DPO with appropriate privileges from that moment on:

—                         the affected ATM/ANS equipment cannot be integrated into any functional system as the requirements in ATM/ANS.OR.A.045 (g) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/373 will be no longer met;

—                         the affected ATM/ANS equipment already integrated into a functional system cannot be modified until a valid certificate or declaration is in place, in accordance with points ATM/ANS.OR.A.045 (g)(1) and (g)(2) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/373. This requires another DPO with appropriate privileges to take responsibility for the compliance of the equipment with the applicable technical specifications;

—                         the continuous operation of the ATM/ANS equipment already integrated into the functional system of ATM/ANS providers may not necessarily be immediately impacted. However, ATM/ANS providers will have to consider how the absence of the DPO impacts the suitability for use of the equipment, the defined conditions of use, and any prescribed limitations; and

(c)       issue an ATM/ANS equipment directive to replace the ATM/ANS equipment concerned in case an unsafe, insecure, under-performing or non-interoperability condition has been identified or is likely to develop, as in the absence of a DPO with appropriate privileges and responsibility for ensuring that the equipment continues complying with the applicable technical specifications, design changes to the ATM/ANS equipment to restore performance are not possible. This ATM/ANS equipment directive will be addressed to all known users of the ATM/ANS equipment and their competent authorities.

Note: In case the DPO approval is still valid, e.g. during a suspension/revocation process, EASA will require the DPO to make appropriate descriptive data and accomplishment instructions available to all known users of the ATM/ANS equipment and their competent authorities.

Urgent operational needs might require certain exceptions to the principles described above, allowing integration or modification of equipment without a valid certificate or declaration. In those cases, the exemptions are to be managed under the flexibility provisions in Article 71 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, subject to all relevant conditions laid down in such article. In particular, the Member State must provide adequate justification for the following aspects:

(1)       it is not possible for another DPO to obtain a valid certificate or issue a declaration for the equipment;

(2)       safety, environmental protection and compliance with the applicable essential requirements are ensured, where necessary through the application of mitigation measures;

(3)       any possible distortion of market conditions as a consequence of the granting of the exemption will be mitigated as far as possible; and

(4)       the exemption is limited in scope and duration to the extent strictly necessary and it is applied in a non-discriminatory manner; and

(d)       take any other necessary further enforcement measures which are necessary to mitigate the consequences of the discontinuation of a DPO approval.