Air Operator's Certificate (AOC)

A Company operating an aircraft for the purpose of Public Transportation, within the UK, must have an AOC granted to the company, in accordance with JAR-OPS 1.175 and the Air Navigation Order (ANO) Article 6.

An Air Operator's Certificate will specify the following details:

The name and location of the operator's main place of business.

The date of issue and the period of validity of the certificate. This validity is normally ‘until revoked'.

A full description of the type of operations authorised, the type(s) of aircraft being operated and their registration markings.

Authorised areas of operation, with any limitations.

Any special limitations, authorisations or approvals, such as CAT II or CAT III operation, ETOPS flights, etc.

Under the above JAR, the CAA, as a full member authority of the JAA, is authorised to grant the AOC once the company meets the requirements of JAR OPS.

The initial application for the grant of an AOC is made to the Flight Operations Inspectorate (FOI) of the CAA, who will carry out an investigation of the operator in relation to the operation of his aircraft fleet and the relevant regulations.

The CAA SRG, however, investigate arrangements for engineering support made in accordance with Sub-part M of JAR-OPS on behalf of the FOI.

The AOC will be issued by the FOI once it is fully satisfied that all requirements of JAR-OPS have been met. This also includes SRG acknowledgement that Sub-part M of JAR-OPS has also been complied with.

Once an AOC is approved and in force, all the aircraft are to be maintained by an organisation approved to JAR 145.

For a JAR-OPS approval the company must nominate an Accountable Manager and Deputy. The Accountable Manager must be acceptable to the authority and will exercise corporate authority. He/She is responsible for ensuring that all operations, including aircraft maintenance, can be resourced and carried out to the standards set by the relevant NAA.