NZ CAA COVID-19 regulatory relief package

Press

Further to the special CAA briefing sent out on 24 March 2020, we can now announce the details of the first tranche of regulatory relief measures we are putting in place. During these unprecedented times we need to be flexible and responsive in our regulatory approach, and this first tranche of initiatives is focused on addressing many of the immediate regulatory challenges those involved in aviation are facing, or will face in the near future. We have ensured our approach is finely balanced, with a focus on providing relief at the same time as ensuring safety risks are effectively managed in these rapidly changing times.

Overseas simulator training during government-imposed travel restrictions [PDF 55 KB] (26 Mar 2020 Rev1)
If you have an organisational certificate expiring soon (this includes certificates issued under Parts 102, 109, 115, 119, 129, 139, 140, 141, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 171, 172, 173, 174 and 175) the CAA will initiate a process to issue a new certificate for a period of six months from the date of expiry of your current certificate, subject to it being able to assure itself that there are no significant safety concerns in doing so. This will be completed through a desktop risk assessment reviewing all intelligence and information held by the CAA, and by a review of your exposition. There will be no charges associated with this assessment and the issuing of the new certificate. You do not need to make application for this process to be initiated.
If you have an upcoming Safety Management System implementation date, and have not yet been certificated, an exemption to Part 100 until 1 February 2022 will be issued. This will exempt your organisation from the need to have a Safety Management System until an implementation date determined by CAA. This implementation date will be before 1 February 2022, and well beyond your current agreed implementation date. If you would like to retain your current implementation date you are welcome to do so, just let us know. There will be no charges associated with the issuing of this exemption.
If your medical certificate is due to expire shortly, this will be extended automatically by a period of 90 days, through the issue of an emergency directive under Section 27G of the Civil Aviation Act 1990. You will still have to comply with any surveillance conditions associated with your medical certificate during this extension period.
If you have upcoming currency requirements, flight reviews, proficiency checks, or training and checking requirements, an exemption will be issued extending the period within which these checks and reviews must be completed by a period of three months. There will be no charges associated with the issuing of this exemption.

Further potential areas of regulatory relief are also being considered, with respect to aircraft inspection and maintenance requirements, and other areas. Announcements on any further regulatory relief initiatives will be made on this website. Please check back regularly.

We are also conscious that other issues may arise for you, that are either unique to your operation, or that we haven’t identified and addressed through our regulatory relief work. If you foresee the inability to comply with a safety regulatory requirement due to the impact of COVID-19, then please engage with us early. We will take a flexible and pragmatic approach to working with you and assisting you to find solutions to the challenges you face. If it’s a challenge you face, it may well be faced by other operators, and we may be able to include it in the next update of regulatory relief initiatives.