Malta becomes the 20th Member of the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) of Europe

On the 29^th June 1999, Malta became the 20^th member of the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) of Europe. The JAA is an associated body of the European Civil Aviation Conference which consists of thirty seven European States and whose objectives are those of:-

• ensuring a high level of safety within Member States;
• contributing to fair and equal competition within Member States through the application of uniform safety standards;
• aiming for cost-effective safety and minimum regulatory burden so as to contribute to the European industries international competitiveness.

The JAA Board, which is the highest decision making body of the JAA, held a meeting on the 29^thJune 1999, in Paris and accepted Malta's application for full membership.

It is to be noted that the present JAA organisation was constituted by fifteen European States who signed the 1990 Arrangements Document in Cyprus. The States that decided to be become members of the JAA after 1990 had to undergo a more rigorous process instead of simply signing the Arrangements Document as had been done for the original members. In fact from 1993, applicants for JAA membership first had to sign the 1990 Arrangements Document to become Candidate Members, and then they had to undergo a detailed assessment by a JAA team. The purpose of this assessment was that of explaining to the JAA the applicant's system, methods and practices in the field of aeronautical design, manufacture, maintenance and operation.

Malta signed the Arrangements Document on 29^th June 1993 and thus became a Candidate Member. After a lot of preparatory work, a JAA Assessment Team visited Malta on 19^th April 1995 for discussions with the Department of Civil Aviation. The Assessment Team found that whilst the Department of Civil Aviation was generally carrying out its functions adequately, it also needed to make some further improvements to gear itself to JAA requirements. These included the recruitment of additional staff, and the legislation in Malta of the Joint Aviation Requirements (JARs), the rules of the JAA. The Department of Civil Aviation took all the necessary actions to satisfy the JAA recommendations, and on 23^rd November 1998 a JAA Assessment Team visited Malta for the second time. The results of this assessment were positive and the team recommended to the JAA Committee that Malta be accepted by the JAA as a full member. The JAA Committee met on 10^th March 1999 and accepted the Assessment Team's recommendations, and in turn, recommended to the JAA Board Malta's acceptance as a full member of the JAA. Malta thus became the first JAA full member to have become so through the formal JAA assessment process.

It is to be noted that Malta as a full member of the JAA, now also meets one of the directives in force within the European Union (EU), which requires EU Members to be full members of the JAA. In fact, all EU States are members of the JAA. The other JAA full members are Switzerland, Monaco, Norway and Iceland.

Malta's full membership of the JAA means that the civil aviation safety oversight system that it operates is of a level acceptable within Europe. The eventual implications are that certificates and licences issued by the Department of Civil Aviation in Malta under the JAA codes of practices will be recognised within all the JAA member States.