PMA Parts Continue to Be Acceptable in the UK

PMA parts will continue to be acceptable in the UK after Brexit.

The UK and EU have taken the position that EASA regulations will continue to apply to the UK (and in the UK) during the transition period (post-Brexit). The transition period will last from Februrary 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.  This means that UK operators continue to benefit from EASA standards and bilaterals that accept PMA parts for use on aircraft registered in Europe.

Legal Basis

The EU and UK have both signed the Withdrawal Agreement. The EU issued a formal notice announcing the Withdrawal Agreement, earlier today. Article 127(1) of the Withdrawal Agreement states:

“Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, Union law shall be applicable to and in the United Kingdom during the transition period.”

This means that the Regulation (EU) 2019/494 (which had originally been expected to control aviation safety between EU and UK) will not come into effect.

The UK CAA updated their Brexit microsite, this morning, to reflect the application of EU law during the transition period.

This is a significant relief to many; as late as January 15, the EU had published plans that stated that the UK would have no recourse to EASA rules after Brexit, anticipating that for the UK aviation community, “[a]ll current EU law-based rights, obligations and benefits cease.”  The industry is breathing a collective sigh of relief that this is not coming to pass.

The US and UK had already negotiated a continued acceptance of PMAs, in the event that UK-EU negotiation had failed, so FAA-PMAs should continue to be permitted for use on UK-registered aircraft even after the transition period.

FAA Response

Earlier today, the FAA circulated a letter from FAA Associate Administrator Ali Bahrami announcing that the United States will treat the UK as remaining subject to the US-EU aviation safety agreements during the transition period.  because this agreement includes acceptance of FAA-PMA

Resources:

• All formats of the Withdrawal Agreement can be found here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2020.029.01.0007.01.ENG&toc=OJ:L:2020:029:TOC
• All formats of the Political Declaration can be found here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.C_.2020.034.01.0001.01.ENG&toc=OJ:C:2020:034:TOC
• FAA letter recognizing application of EASA standards to UK during transition period: https://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/international/bilateral_agreements/brexit/media/brexit_letter.pdf
• FAA FAQ on Brexit (Jan. 30, 2020): https://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/international/bilateral_agreements/brexit/media/brexit_faq.pdf