Training & Education from the perspective of the National Aviation Policy Draft.

College Ireland provides a substantial number of Education and Training Courses for the Irish and International Aviation Sector. For more information on programmes available and/or Bespoke training for organisations contact us at 01-6217368 or www.cias.ie

Training & Education:

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) defines general aviation‘ as ―all civil aviation operations other than scheduled air services and non-scheduled air transport operations for remuneration or hire. For ICAO statistical purposes, general aviation activities are classified into ―instructional flying, business flying, pleasure flying, aerial work and other flying. In Ireland, GA activities include aero-medical, flight training and aerial work such as agricultural aviation, aerial photography and surveying. It also includes corporate, private recreational, sports aviation and parachuting. GA supports businesses such as airfields, hangar provision and  maintenance providers. A broad spectrum of aircraft types is involved. These include large corporate jets, corporate and private helicopters, light aeroplanes, microlights, sailplanes (gliders), gyroplane and balloons. The scope of GA activities ranges from intercontinental business travel to local flying out of private fields.

GA covers a very wide range of activities, has many participants and its economic value is equally varied. Recreational flying is, in general, likely to have considerable social or utility value. Corporate GA may have very high economic value, both direct and indirect. In addition, GA has wider economic benefits through the impact it has on other sectors of the economy, including GA‘s role in the  training of airline pilots and its role in air transport. This role also raises issues in relation to pilot training and education generally.

AIRCRAFT LEASING, FINANCING AND MRO (a look at the National Aviation Policy for Ireland Draft)

College Ireland Provides Training Programmes including one 'Project Management & Aircraft Leasing'. For more information see: Project Management & Aircraft Leasing Course

BACKGROUND:

Ireland has a very strong tradition and reputation in the aerospace sphere. Our geographical location has given Ireland many advantages in aviation, none more so than in Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO). The development of the sector in the Shannon area, in particular, was aided by the former requirement for transatlantic aircraft to stop over at Shannon and the business which this provided. This facilitated the development of a significant skills base in MRO activity that endures to this day. The MRO industry plays an important supporting role in the wider aviation sector in Ireland supporting airline and airport activity, aircraft leasing and finance activity and manufacturing.

Ireland is considered the birthplace of aircraft leasing and today it is one of the main industries in which Ireland can truly claim to be a global leader. Aircraft leasing and finance employs  approximately 1,000 people directly in Ireland and 2,000 indirectly, in highly paid professional positions. The total annual tax contribution to Irish Exchequer from aircraft leasing is over €300 million per annum. In addition, total expenditure by aircraft lessors on Irish professional services and infrastructure is estimated at in excess of €135 million per annum.

The State has taken a number of steps in recent years to bolster Ireland‘s preeminent position in aircraft leasing. Ireland was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Cape Town Convention and its associated Aircraft Protocol. The International Interests in Mobile Equipment (Cape Town Convention) Act, 2005 also provided for State participation in a joint venture that was established to bid to operate the computerised registry of financial interests in aircraft (the International Registry) that was established under the Convention.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport holds a 20% shareholding in Aviareto, the SPV that was established for this purpose. Aviareto was selected to set up and run the International Registry by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. It was initially appointed for a five year term and was re-appointed in 2011 for a further five year term.

The growth of aircraft leasing was also greatly facilitated by targeted tax rates and rulings as well as the development of a comprehensive network of tax treaties. The industry was further facilitated by the IAA‘s decision to support the registration on the Irish aircraft register of aircraft based off-shore pursuant to Article 83bis of the Chicago Convention.

ISSUES:

As mentioned previously, global air transport is growing at a phenomenal rate, outstripping economic growth globally by three to four fold. The International Air Transport Association‘s (IATA) Airline Industry Forecast 2013-2017 shows that airlines expect to see a 31% increase in passenger numbers between 2012 and 2017. By 2017 total passenger numbers are expected to rise to 3.91 billion—an increase of 930 million passengers over 2012. A very significant amount of the forecast growth will be in Asia-Pacific and in the Middle East and there is a view that, as a result of this, global aviation is gradually shifting eastwards. This will pose a threat to established industries in the sector in the west including those in Ireland and, in particular, MRO and aircraft leasing. The Government recognises this threat and is committed to continuing to support the industries to sustain and develop their position.

There are significant opportunities for continued growth and employment in aircraft leasing and appropriate policies will be pursed to facilitate this.

Snippets( Part 2) from the National Aviation Policy Draft for Ireland

Changes: 

There are rapid and significant changes underway in the aviation sector. The increasing complexity of the aviation system requires the use of a risk-based approach to identify safety issues and assess residual safety risks that may exist within a compliant system.

A risk-based approach is an inherent part of a Safety Management System (SMS). SMS has been adopted by ICAO as standard international practice. The European Union, through EASA, is in the process of moving from what has mainly been a reactive system, in which rule-making proposals were on the basis of past experience, towards a prospective system that attempts to anticipate and focus on potential safety risks.

The ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan and the European Aviation Safety Programme require Ireland to achieve full implementation of a State Safety Plan (SSP) and SMS across the civil aviation system, to facilitate the proactive management of safety risks.

Through implementation of the SSP framework, Ireland will complement fundamental safety oversight functions with risk management and analytic processes that can proactively identify and mitigate safety issues.

A focus on improved human factors analysis and management within the SMS is essential. 

Effective mitigation actions require accurate identification of causal factors. By improving the quality and depth of investigation to identify human and organisation causal factors, through SMS processes, appropriate mitigation actions can then be formulated.

College Ireland provides

customised training on Health & Safety, Human Factors and Critical Incident Stress Management. Contact us for details at 01-6217368 or www.cias.ie

Snippets from the National Aviation Policy for Ireland Draft

·         Ireland‘s aviation sector is a major contributor to our economy. It is essential for our tourism industry, for our trading relationships and for connecting Ireland with the rest of the world. It contributes €4.1bn directly to our GDP comprising €1.9bn directly from aviation, €1.3bn through the supply chain and €0.9bn from associated spending by people employed in aviation. It supports 26,000 jobs directly and a further 16,000 in the supply chain. Ireland‘s tourism industry, which is hugely dependent on aviation, accounts for a further €5.3bn contribution to GDP and 180,000 jobs.

The draft national aviation policy aims to support the growth and continued development of aviation in Ireland. The principal goals of the policy are:

·         To enhance Ireland‘s connectivity by ensuring safe, secure and competitive access

responsive to the needs of business, tourism and consumers; and to foster the growth of aviation enterprise in Ireland to support job creation and position.

·         Ireland as a recognised global leader in aviation.

·         Safety, and public confidence in the safety of air travel underpin all other objectives in this sector.

·         Maintaining the highest standards of safety in Irish aviation continues to be a priority objective of Irish aviation policy. In 2011, Ireland was ranked amongst the best in the world for civil aviation safety oversight, following an intensive international audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). In July 2013, the Eurocontrol Performance Review Body (PRB) published its Annual Monitoring Report on safety which ranked Ireland first out of 29 European states for the measure of Effectiveness of Safety Management (EoSM) - a key metric for the quality of safety regulatory oversight. A fundamental requirement of any aviation safety oversight system is the obligation to report occurrences that may affect safety. In that regard, Ireland has a very good and effective Mandatory Occurrence Reporting System (MORs), established in accordance with the requirements of EU law and ICAO requirements, that is monitored on an on-going basis by both the IAA and the AAIU.

·         It is the Government‘s intention that Ireland‘s safety record in aviation is maintained and defended and that it participates actively in the development of the regulatory framework at an international level.

·         Ireland has an excellent aviation safety record. Safety shall remain the number one priority. The primary responsibility for safety rests with the operator; the State‘s obligation is to ensure compliance.