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On August 31st new European rules for the licensing and medical certification of air traffic controllers came into force. Commission Regulation (EU) No 805 / 2011 creates uniform requirements and mandates the Europe-wide recognition of all air traffic controller licenses, associated ratings, language endorsements and medical certificates.

Upon the request of the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, EASA, the European Aviation Safety Agency, prepared a draft proposal to establish a Regulation in the field. Published as Opinion No 3/2010 on 28 May 2010, the proposal was further developed by the European Commission in close cooperation with the Agency and Member States until its adoption on 10 August 2011.

Building on a European Directive from 2006, the Regulation replaces potentially differing national rules and offers greater professional mobility for air traffic controllers. Air traffic controllers holding a license issued in accordance with the Regulation will be able to work in all Member States.

Licence holders should note that licences and medical certificates issued by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) in accordance with Directive 2006/23/EC (Transposed into Irish legislation by S.I 305 of 2008) are considered as having been issued in accordance with this Regulation in order to guarantee continuation of existing licence privileges.

The Safety Regulation Division of the IAA, in its capacity as the National Supervisory Authority, is the competent authority for the purposes of Commission Regulation (EU) No 805/2011.

The Regulation can be downloaded from the website of the Official Journal of the European Union <http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32011R0805:EN:NOT>

ENDS