المملكة: "Civil aviation" A fee of 200 thousand riyals is imposed for a “linear maintenance” license.

The General Civil Aviation Authority intends to make fundamental amendments to the economic regulations of Ground handling services and air freight, aiming to include “linear maintenance” as an official activity that requires an economic license, to ensure that the actual need at airports is covered according to an approved plan.

This regulatory move came to address the absence of clear regulation of aircraft linear maintenance activity, which contributes to stopping illegal practices and meeting the economic requirements for practicing the activity, ensuring the optimal use of available resources.

Category “B” airports, while fees for Category “C” airports were set at 50,000 riyals, in order to enhance the financial sustainability of companies and stop the economic leakage of this activity.

The new regulation defines “linear maintenance” as the limited work carried out while the aircraft remains in the operating area on the airside, and its duration often does not exceed 24 hours, and includes troubleshooting, diagnosing, and correcting minor defects.

The new license powers include allowing components to be replaced using External testing equipment, and maintenance work that detects obvious faults without the need for in-depth inspections, including visual elements of the internal structure and engines.

Through this regulation, the Authority aims to enhance civil aviation safety by improving control services, as it is expected that legalizing this activity will raise the level of operational safety and conformity of services with approved international standards.

The operating companies and ground handling service providers will have to adhere to the new requirements, which may impose initial administrative costs, including training and updating licensing systems, but this will reflect positively on the quality of service provided to airline companies.

The Authority put forward the project to survey the opinions of the public and those interested for a period of time. 15 days via the “Estilaa” platform, to ensure the participation of the private sector and stakeholders in formulating the decision before it is approved in its final form.

The decision is expected to contribute to increasing Competitivenessand improving efficiency in line maintenance services, which is in the interest of the end consumer and airlines in the long term by improving flight discipline and operating quality.

The new licenses cover repair and modification activities that do not require dismantling major parts of the aircraft, and can be accomplished by simple means, which facilitates operational operations in airport aprons and reduces aircraft downtime.