Recent pilot reports have suggested that French civil aviation authorities are requiring foreign operators to demonstrate that they have a safety management system (SMS) or flight operations quality assurance (Foqa) program before they grant traffic rights. In fact, for the past two years France’s aviation authority (DGAC) has mandated that foreign operators flying commercially or operating an aircraft weighing more than 27 metric tons (59,500 pounds) have a flight data analysis program (FDAP). The requirement is independent of any EASA regulation, with the DGAC maintaining it is enforcing ICAO standards.
Didier Serrano, head of the foreign operator monitoring directorate for civil aviation safety (DSAC), disputes the assertion that agents are requiring a Foqa or SMS but he concedes they do ask about them. “Crews often know their country’s regulations but not ICAO standards,” Serrano explained. The existence of a Foqa implies that the operator has an FDAP in place. So, if the crew does not know about the FDAP, asking about a Foqa is a way to get the answer. An SMS usually contains an FDAP, he added. According to Christophe Bruni, the DSAC’s foreign airlines observatory program manager, an operator’s aircraft must be equipped with quick-access recorders to run an FDAP.
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