In order for a flight school to train pilots, it has to hold an Approved Training Organisation (ATO) certificate or have submitted a declaration for a Declared Training Organisation (DTO). Based on the relevant European standards that are applicable in Switzerland, the FOCA and its inspectors are responsible for the certification and oversight of flight schools providing training for airplanes, helicopters and balloons.
General information
The following presentations were held by FOCA at events for training organisations:
Presentation about the topic of DTO and ATO from the meeting of flight schools, held on 16/09/2017:
Approved Training Organisation (ATO)
Organizations seeking an ATO certification are informed about the process by means of a pre-application meeting. Depending on the quality of the submitted documents, a complete certification requires about 6-12 months. We are looking forward to hearing from you to set a date for your pre-application meeting.
Applications: General
New applications and changes within an Approved Training Organization (ATO) usually require a document evaluation and, in some cases, further oversight activities by an inspector. Certain documents must be submitted, depending on the type of application. On this page you will find these documents and downloads.
For obtaining an ATO certificate, a training organisation is required to have a FOCA approved management system. The management system consists of an «Organisation Management Manual» (OMM), an «Operation Manual» (OM) and a «Training Manual» (TM).
The «Certification Leaflet CL MS» is available to training organisations (ATO) as guidance to establish their «Organisation Management Manual» (OMM), which should describe the ATOs management system.
CL MS:
FOCA GM/INFO - CL Management System (PDF, 2 MB, 01.11.2023)Covers all aspects of management system requirements and shall assist the applicant to implement a Management System and to comply with the requirements
For developing and maintaining the «Operation Manual» (OM) and «Training Manual» (TM), we are providing the CL OM/TM as a guidance. It contains examples for the content of these manuals, as well as questions for compliance verification and self-assessment and as a preparation tool for audits and inspections.
CL OM/TM:
FOCA GM/INFO - Operations and Training Manual (PDF, 4 MB, 30.05.2023)Provides guidance on all aspects of the required structure and content of an Approved Training Organisation’s (ATO) documentation
A certificate must be applied for in the event of an initial ATO application or if a change to the ATO certificate is requested (e.g. new courses, changes to simulators used). If all requirements are met, an ATO certificate listing the approved courses is issued. A course is now considered approved once the certificate and Form 105, signed by the FOCA, has been received. In order for the application to be processed, both Form 105 and a corresponding compliance list must be submitted.
An application to change documentation (e.g. changes to OMM, OM, TM or syllabuses) does not affect an ATO certificate. ATOs must now apply for any changes to be made to documentation using Form 105. The FOCA issues approval or acceptance of the change also via Form 105.
The FOCA must be notified of appointments to the relevant positions in a flight school. This applies to both new appointments and when a position is filled for the first time. In addition, the FOCA must approve the Accountable Manager.
The positions in an ATO are as follows: Accountable Manager (AM), Head of Training (HT); for professional pilot training: Chief Flight Instructor (CFI) and Chief Theoretical Knowledge Instructor (CTKI); except in the case of ATOs with organisational review: Safety Manager (SM) and Compliance Monitoring Manager (CMM).
The FOCA must be notified at least ten days in advance of any change in management personnel. The OMM must be revised as a result of any such change. Form 105 must be submitted each time a change is made to the OMM and new management personnel are appointed.
FOCA provides template manuals (OMM, OM, TM) for ATOs in word-format. The content of these templates correspond to the examples given in the CL OM/TM. The aim of these templates is to support new ATOs in preparing their management system. It is paramount, however, that an ATOs management system reflects the actual procedures and processes used and is ultimately useful in the operation.
There are two options to implement an OMM’s “Safety Risk Management” and “Compliance Monitoring”. The method of the «Organisational Review» (OR) is, however, only available to training organisations providing training toward the LAPL, PPL, SPL, BPL and their associated ratings.
Templates:
- ATO Organisation Management Manual OMM Template (DOCM, 438 kB, 30.05.2023)
- ATO Organisation Management Manual with Organisational Review OMM-OR Template (DOCM, 1 MB, 30.05.2023)
- ATO Operations Manual OM Template (DOCM, 466 kB, 30.05.2023)
- ATO Training Manual TM Template (DOCM, 362 kB, 28.06.2022)
- OMM ATT5 Internal Audit Checklist and Report (DOCX, 47 kB, 10.10.2017)
- OMM-OR ATT1 Organisational Review Checklist and Report (DOCX, 48 kB, 10.10.2017)
Flight schools are required to develop a training programme for any kind of training. These programmes must comply with Part-FCL of the Air Crew Regulation. Additionally in case of type ratings, the training programme shall take the operational suitability data (OSD) of the aircraft manufacturer into account. The document CL OM/TM contains further information on the development of the specific training programmes.
The Implementation Journals support the flight schools with new requirements in specific topics. The documents help to implement these changes and accompany the certification process.
Declared Training Organisation (DTO)
The Declared Training Organization (DTO) is a simplified form of organization for flight schools. The DTO is a result of the GA roadmap of the EASA.
In order to start with training activities, a declaration and the corresponding training programs (syllabi) have to be submitted to sbfl@bazl.admin.ch.
The legal basis has been published as Part-DTO (Annex VIII) of the Air Crew Regulation. For sailplanes and balloons, Part-DTO will apply as of April 08th 2020.
To operate as a DTO, a flight school must declare that it will operate within the bounderies of the law and provides information on training courses offered. In case of changes to the organisation, the declaration shall be amended and submitted again.
The representative of the DTO states by means of a safety policy that the organisation aims for a safe operation of all activities. The annex thereto is the implementation of the safety policy, based on hazard identification and occurrence reporting. The training organisation should also have a flight instructor list and aircraft list.
By means of the annual activity report, the DTO reflects on the past year and reviews its internal processes. The annual activity report is made in the first two months of the new year and sent to sbfl@bazl.admin.ch.
Flight schools are required to develop a training programme for any kind of training. These programmes must comply with Part-FCL of the Air Crew Regulation. Additionally in case of type ratings, the training programme shall take the operational suitability data of the aircraft manufacturer into account. The document CL OM/TM contains further information on the development of the specific training programmes.
List of Swiss flight schools
The flight school directory will help you find the training providers in Switzerland. There are two categories: Approved Training Organizations (ATO) may offer any certified courses, up to the commercial and airline transport pilot license. The Declared Training Organizations (DTO) provide training for private pilots, with the associated ratings.
Further information
Contact
Federal Office of Civil Aviation FOCA
Section Training Organisations and Light Aircraft Operations
Tel: +41 58 466 70 07
Fax: +41 58 465 80 53