EASA Compliance review of airside planning

Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport (EETN) is the main airport in Estonia. It features a single 45 m wide runway with a length of 3070 m. In the next years the project “Tallinn Airport Airside Area Development Project” will aim to improve and expand the airside infrastructure. It will includes for instance an extension of the existing runway and taxiways, the construction of new apron and taxiways, as well as a general upgrade of the infrastructure for CAT II operations (e.g. ILS, lighting systems etc.).

Estonia, as a member state of the European Union, falls under the scope of EASA. Therefore Tallinn Airport (EETN) has to comply with regulation 139/2014 (EU aerodrome regulations) and corresponding applicable specification for aerodrome planning and design (i.e. Certification Specifications).

The proposed design for the airport expansion project, developed prior the introduction of EASA specifications, was based on ICAO Annex 14 5th edition. Though ICAO and EASA requirements are very similar in scope and nature, the future airport infrastructure should be compliant to the new EASA requirements – and ideally consider the latest version of the 6th edition of ICAO Annex 14.

In this regard, airsight was commissioned to review the applicable differences between ICAO and EASA requirements and make recommendations on managing compliance.

airsight developed and uses comprehensive check-lists based on EASA specifications and their corresponding elements in ICAO SARPs and related guidance material. This makes such assessment very efficient and the provided results of the analysis enables a seamless conversion into the new EASA regulatory system, and warrant the viability of the future aerodrome layout.