Conference Set For October Will Have GA As Its Focus

EASA’s Annual Safety Conference, to be held in Rome in October, is likely to be one of the most important ever for general aviation in Europe, according to  IAOPA Europe, which plans a strong presence.

The conference, which has GA as its focus, comes at a time when the wind of change is running through EASA following the appointment of Patrick Ky as Executive Director. There is an increasing acceptance that GA is over-regulated to the point where its economic survival is compromised and that a new and more proportionate approach is urgently required.

The conference, beginning on October 15, will examine EASA’s “ongoing efforts towards creating a simpler, lighter, better regulatory framework for General Aviation”. A series of panel discussions will stretch over two days, addressing a range of important themes including pilot licensing, airworthiness for small aircraft and other elements of EASA’s GA roadmap.

The conference takes place at the Radisson Blu Es Hotel in Rome by invitation of Ente Nazionale per l’Aviazione Civile, the Italian CAA, and it coincides with the Italian Presidency of the European Union. With the Green Party having taken over the EU’s Transport Committee, there’s never been a more critical time for regulators to remove some of the unnecessary burden of red tape under which GA has to operate.

IAOPA Senior Vice President Martin Robinson, who has been invited to speak at the conference, has offered EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky the Association’s full support for the changes he intends to make. Ky is urging national aviation authorities not to ‘gold-plate’ EASA regulation, and the UK CAA has responded by setting up a dedicated email address, in conjunction with AOPA UK, on which instances of gold-plating can be reported.

Among those invited to speak at the conference is British politician Grant Shapps MP, a private pilot who is behind moves in Britain to slash government red tape as it applies to general aviation. Patrick Ky is closely watching developments in the UK, where Shapps and CAA Chief Executive Andrew Haines are driving significant change.

FMI: www.iaopa.eu