On 26 and 27 October, the European Commission sent Parliament and the Council two implementing regulations to simplify and regulate the use of hot air balloons.
These two implementing regulations were made on the basis of article 291 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) amending Regulation 216/2008 on common rules in the civil aviation domain and the 965/2012 regulation for application establishing the technical requirements and administrative procedures applicable to aviation operations.
With these two texts, the European Commission would like the use of hot air balloons to no longer be governed by common aviation rules but by a specific text simplifying this subject, with the exception of the surveillance of aviation operations by the competent authorities in the member states. Aviation operations carried out in gas fuelled captive balloons, however, will not be governed by this autonomous regulation.
Rather than request a certificate to be able to fly, users carrying out commercial operations in balloons will, in future, have to make a declaration to the competent national authority responsible for hot air balloons. Certain operations, particularly those involving competitions or voyages of discovery, will, however, subject to certain conditions, be exempt from such a declaration.
The aforementioned provisions are expected to enter into force in April 2019 but a transition period could apply until October of the same year, in an effort to enable the member states adapt to these new regulations.
The co-legislators now have three months as from the end of October to oppose these implementing regulations, failing which, the regulations will be adopted. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)