Commercial air transport
means an aircraft operation involving the transport of passengers, cargo or mail for remuneration or hire. An aircraft operator involved in commercial air transport must be the holder of a valid Air Operator Certificate (AOC) issued by the Ministry of Transport and a valid Air Carrier Operating Licence (ACOL) issued. The issue of an AOC and ACOL authorises an operator to conduct commercial air transport operations in accordance with such conditions and limitations as may be prescribed for that aircraft operator. To obtain an AOC and ACOL an operator must complete a thorough process to satisfy the authorities that they are competent to secure the safe operation of aircraft. They are subject to rigorous oversight by the Civil Aviation Authority and are audited regularly for competence and adequacy of resources in areas such as management and organisational structure, crew training, aircraft maintenance, flight planning and support, including many other areas.
Aerial Work
Operators of aircraft operating in the aerial work category must hold an Aerial Work Permission issued by the Civil Aviation Authority. Examples of aerial work include such tasks as aerial photography, aerial survey (geological and ordinance survey), electrical power line and gas pipeline inspections, carriage of external loads ... Aerial Work does not include the carriage of passengers for hire or reward.
Maintenance
Aircraft require regular inspection and maintenance, based on calendar age, hours flown, and cycles of takeoff-landing. Engines, landing gear, and other major systems have limits on their life in service before overhaul. There is a stream of modifications coming from the manufacturers. All this work needs to be packaged up into a series of maintenance checks. Efficient packaging and scheduling of this work plays an important part in maximising the availability of the fleet for flying. Therefore are Part 145 and Continuing Airworthiness Management aprovals, for us and for you (our customers), so important
