Specialised Operations (SPO)

Commission Regulation (EU) No. 379/2014 amending Commission Regulation (EU) No. 965/2012 had introduced Annex VIII rules for Commercial Specialised Operations (Part-SPO). Specialised operations (SPO) include any activity other than commercial air transport where the aircraft is used for specialised operations such as:

- agriculture
- construction
- photography
- surveying
- observation and patrol
- aerial advertisement

GM1 SPO.GEN.005 includes a non-exhaustive list of activities that fall under this category.

Furthermore, the following operations fall under Part-SPO:

- SPO non-commercial with complex aircraft;
- All commercial SPO.

Part-SPO may be of particular interest to those organisations conducting activities falling under this category both locally and overseas. The rule includes provisions for two different levels of activities;

i. Those which are considered low risk (thus requiring only a declaration of activity); and
ii. High risk operations which require a declaration and an authorisation application.

Requirements for Maltese SPO Operators
High Risk Commercial SPO