Specialised Operations

Specialised operations ‘SPO’ is where the aircraft is used for activities such as agriculture, construction, photography, surveying, observation and patrol or aerial advertisement. For further details of SPO criterias consult SPO.GEN.005 of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 on Air Operations.

For such operations Part-VIII (Part-SPO) of the Commission Regulation (EU) N0 965/2012 on Air Operations is applicable for aeroplanes and helicopters, unless performed on other-than complex aeroplanes or helicopters as non-commercial activity – in which case Part-VII (Part-NCO) of the Commission Regulation (EU) N0 965/2012 on Air Operations would be applicable; find further more details further down under title: “Applicable Requirements for SPO Operators”.

For the application, deletion or change of an approval according to EASA Part-ORO, Part-SPA, Part-SPO or other changes to be handled with the FOCA according to the EASA regulations applicable to the type of operation, see Changes at Aircraft Operator.

Holding an AOC does not provide the entitlement to perform SPO.

Applicable Requirements for SPO Operators

The operator must consider the following regulation parts (Annexes), subparts and the respective Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) and the Guidance Material (GM) of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 on Air Operations:

Commercial SPO Ops	Applicable requirements described in	Req.
with CMPA	Part-ORO in applicable sections / Part-SPO in full	DEC
with nCMPA	Part-ORO in applicable sections / Part-SPO in full	DEC
if doing high risk Ops	Part-ORO in applicable sections / Part-SPO in full	DEC+A

Non-commercial SPO Ops	Applicable requirements described in	Req.
with CMPA	Part-ORO in applicable sections / Part-SPO in full	DEC
with nCMPA	Part-NCO*	NIL
if doing high risk Ops¹	with CMPA: Part-ORO in applicable sections / Part-SPO in full	DEC
if doing high risk Ops¹	with nCMPA: Part-NCO*	NIL

(n)CMPA = (non)-complex motor-powered aircraft | DEC = Declaration | DEC+A = Declaration and Authorisation(s) | NIL = None
¹ the term does not exist in Non-commercial SPO Ops

^*Note that according to SPO.GEN.005 (c) some SPO operations (competition flights or flying displays, parachute dropping, sailplane towing and aerobatic flights) may be subject to compliance with Part-NCO only (instead of Part-ORO and Part-SPO), when performed under certain conditions. These conditions are to be found on the FOCA NCO website in chapter «Marginal Activity»

Definition of Complex Motor-Powered Aircraft (CMPA)

An aeroplane:

with a maximum certificated take-off mass exceeding 5 700 kg; or,
certificated for a maximum passenger seating configuration of more than 19; or,
certificated for operation with a minimum crew of two pilots; or,
equipped with (a) turbojet engine(s) or more than one turboprop engine.

A helicopter:

certificated for a maximum take-off mass exceeding 3 175 kg; or,
certificated for a maximum passenger seating configuration of more than nine; or,
certificated for operation with a minimum crew of two pilots.

A tilt rotor aircraft

Necessities for SPO Operators

This paragraph only applies to SPO operators who fall in the green category of the table «Applicable Requirements for SPO Operators» above

The SPO operator must have:

a management system in place and describe its operations in an operations manual, including SMS and CMS,
appointed managers (nominated persons),
an approved MEL,
a SPO declaration and associated letter of acknowledgement of the competent authority, and
further items explained in the following passages.

How can I declare SPO in Switzerland?

Document	Title
Guidance Material	GM/INFO - Declaration and List of Approvals (PDF, 265 kB, 23.03.2023)
Form	FOCA/EASA Form - Declaration (PDF, 217 kB, 22.02.2023)

How can I get a MEL approval?

Click on the following link to download the MEL (Minimum Equipment List) approval form for NCC and SPO operators. The form shall be used for MEL Approval processes (initial approval / changes to MEL) by any NCC or SPO operator with a declaration in Switzerland.

MEL Approval Form (PDF, 219 kB, 11.03.2021)

Specific Approvals

Should the SPO operator wish to apply for a Specific Approval the appropriate FOCA section shall be contacted:

Helicopter: heli@bazl.admin.ch
Aeroplanes: sboc@bazl.admin.ch

High Risk Commercial Specialised Operations

Certain commercial SPO operations are classified as high risk. This classification (definition of high risk) is up to the competent authority of the concerned territory. For Swiss territory FOCA established the following:

Definition of high risk commercial specialised operations within Switzerland:

helicopter sling load operations
human external cargo operations
avalanche mining operations:
GM/INFO - HEL Avalanches (PDF, 673 kB, 05.08.2019)
SPO flights where dangerous goods are carried
operations for which protective standards (such as e.g. minimum flight altitudes, underflying of riggings, lines or constructions) – irrespective of the associated necessary approvals – are either exceeded or undershot.