EASA Issues NPA 2026-01 (B) Proposing Amendments to Aerodrome and Air Traffic Service Regulations
EASA issued NPA 2026-01 (B) proposing amendments to EU No 139/2014 and EU 2017/373, covering ground handling arrangements, helicopter safety areas, closed runway markings, and lowering the ADR.OPS.C.015 threshold from 550 to 300 metres.
Original report
www.easa.europa.eu
Industry impact
Aerodrome rulemaking is moving toward tighter documentation of ground handling relationships and tighter low-visibility maintenance thresholds, raising the compliance and coordination burden on airport-side operations.
What happened
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has issued Notice of Proposed Amendment 2026-01 (B), proposing changes to the annexes of two Commission Implementing Regulations: EU No 139/2014 and EU 2017/373.
Under EU No 139/2014, a new rule, ADR.OR.D.040, would require aerodrome operators to establish formal arrangements with ground handling organisations before those organisations begin providing services. Such arrangements must cover the duration of the agreement, a list of services to be provided, methods for exchanging operational information, details on ground support equipment or resource pooling, specification of areas and facilities to be used, and notification procedures for termination of services. Amendments to ADR.OPS.B.027 would prohibit vehicle drivers from operating on the safety area of a Final Approach and Take-Off area, helicopter taxi-routes, or the protection area of a helicopter stand during helicopter movements. Revisions to ADR.OPS.B.071 on closed runways and taxiways would allow closed runway markings to be omitted when closed runway lighting is provided, in line with Amendment 18 to ICAO Annex 14 Volume I; EASA also proposes variable message signs instead of unserviceability signs to indicate temporarily closed or restricted areas, citing concerns that the new orange colour introduced by ICAO adds cockpit complexity and that unlit signs are ineffective at night or in low visibility. Under ADR.OPS.C.015, the runway visual range threshold for the preventive maintenance objective that no two adjacent taxiway centre line lights be unserviceable would be reduced from 550 metres to 300 metres.
Amendments to EU 2017/373 Annex IV, Part-ATS, address control of aerodrome surface traffic in low-visibility conditions under ATS.TR.265. Additional proposed changes relate to aircraft parking under ADR.OPS.D.035 and aircraft departure from the stand under ADR.OPS.D.040.
Industry impact & what to watch
Aerodrome rulemaking of this kind typically tightens the paper trail between an airport operator and the parties working on its ramp and manoeuvring areas, and this proposal follows that pattern by formalising ground handling arrangements and vehicle movement restrictions around helicopter operations. Lowering the runway visual range threshold in ADR.OPS.C.015 from 550 to 300 metres also narrows the visibility band in which taxiway centre line light outages force preventive maintenance action, which shifts more of that maintenance burden into higher-visibility conditions.
How aerodrome operators and ground handlers actually implement these changes depends on how the final rule text defines the required content of ground handling arrangements and how national authorities enforce the new vehicle restrictions on FATO safety areas and helicopter stands. The shift from unserviceability signs to variable message signs also depends on whether EASA's cockpit-complexity concern about the ICAO orange colour standard is accepted in the final rule.
The next milestone is the close of the consultation period on NPA 2026-01 (B) and the comments EASA receives from aerodrome operators, ANSPs and industry bodies on the ground handling documentation requirement and the runway visual range threshold change.
Who this affects
- Commercial Airports — Formal ground handling contracts and a lower runway visual range maintenance threshold would add new documentation and low-visibility operating requirements for airports.
- Ground Handling Agents — Ground handlers would face new formal contracting requirements with airports and a prohibition on vehicle operations near active helicopter movement areas.
- Helicopter Airports — New restrictions on vehicle access to FATO safety areas and helicopter stand protection zones during helicopter movements would change heliport ground procedures.
- Air Traffic Management (ATM) Authorities — Surface traffic control procedures in low-visibility conditions would be revised under the proposed ATS.TR.265 amendment.
The underlying facts come from the originating publisher (linked above). The narrative, industry-impact assessment and per-role analysis below are produced independently by the AVI-GO intelligence team from public information. Cite as: AVI-GO, "EASA Issues NPA 2026-01 (B) Proposing Amendments to Aerodrome and Air Traffic Service Regulations" news brief, 2026-08-24.
How to cite
AVI-GO, “EASA Issues NPA 2026-01 (B) Proposing Amendments to Aerodrome and Air Traffic Service Regulations”. https://ai.avi-go.com/news/ai-news-center/news-briefs/easa-issues-npa-2026-01-b-proposing-amendments-to-aerodrome-and-air-tr-063a98e7e5a3e04a9c6b34e2543613c6
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