1. AERODROME CERTIFICATION IN JAMAICA
JAMAICA CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY
Good Afternoon Mr. Chairman, delegates, presenters and observers. On behalf of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority and Jamaica’s operator of public aerodromes and airports I am very pleased to provide a briefing on the history, scope, process, governing regulations, progress made to date in certification, new legislation, and new and ongoing challenges facing Jamaican aerodrome and airport operators and safety regulators.
You may notice that my accent is not Jamaican. For the past six years I have worked for the JCAA as their Director Flight Safety concentrating on building a safety oversight organization. Currently I am working as the System Coordinator for the Association of Civil Aviation Authorities of the Caribbean. I have been a pilot for close to forty years and I am an operations inspector on large aircraft, and I received all of my safety inspector training in Transport Canada where I worked for twenty years prior to joining the JCAA. I started my aerodrome safety career interest by starting as an aerodrome safety inspector and complementing that experience was a number of years planning regional aviation systems including the Central Arctic aerodrome system and managing the aerodrome safety oversight in Canada’s four easternmost provinces and working as the airside safety officer at the Vancouver International Airport.come from Canada. I am a firm believer that the safety oversight of aerodromes is an essential ingredient in any state’s safety regulation program and that safe aerodromes makes for safe flying.

2. Aerodrome Certification
14 Aerodrome SARPS are now the main reference
incorporated by reference in regulations
16-Noise
17-Security
associated manuals with Annexes
We are all here because ICAO Contracting States have agreed to provide safety oversight of aerodromes and airports to Annex 14 SARPS.
In Jamaica we have chosen to incorporate the Annex 14 SARPS by reference in our legislation. Some larger have developed their own aerodrome standards, however, even though a state may adopt the standards of another state, most states rely on the Annex 14 standards. There are other Annexes and Manuals that apply to aerodrome operations.
Why adopt Annex 14 SARPS? That is because the signatory States to the Chicago Convention have decided that the suitability of an aerodrome should not be the sole responsibility of air operators or pilots and that a certain level of safety regulation is necessary.

3. Aerodrome Certification
Existing Act mentions Annexes
Old regulations dealt with control of aircraft access
Old licensing system controlled where aircraft could have access
Safety regulations require aircraft to land at licensed aerodromes (access control)
In 1996 the newly formed Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority inherited a Civil Aviation Act that determined that the ICAO Annexes would be the standard for the regulation of Civil Aviation. However, complementary safety regulations did not exist to cover the safety regulation of aerodromes. The old regulations dealt with the control of aerodromes, they allowed a person to operate an aerodrome under condition that a certain level of security be implemented to prevent illegal activity.
The aviation safety regulations made it incumbent on air operators and pilots to ensure that an aerodrome was suitable for their intended use and made it illegal for anyone to use an unlicensed aerodrome and for any air operator to land at a non-government aerodrome.
These were stringent regulations intended to effect control over illegal use of aerodromes.

4. Aerodrome Certification
In 1980 before control of aerodromes regulations there were 47 aerodromes in Jamaica
Today there are 15 left
There is demand to open more aerodromes
Act amendment is ready
New regulations have been prepared for certification
Some more history: stringent measures intended for public protection resulted in severe restrictions on legitimate aviation activities and made it difficult for Jamaica to develop air tourism.
There is often such a dichotomy in government responsibilities and Jamaica now finds itself having to react to demand for more aerodromes for improved access.
Although the Authority did amend the old regulations to permit improved safety regulation of aerodromes and had started with aerodrome certification activity it soon became apparent that the imposition of all Annex 14 standards would be prohibitive if applied to the smaller aerodromes. As a result a new set of aerodrome regulations was developed to be promulgated when a revised Act is passed. I will provide a little more detail on that later.
The scope of aerodrome and airport certification activities in Jamaica covers the full spectrum of aerodrome activity although we do not have intersecting or parallel runway operations at this time.

5. Aerodrome Certification
EXISTING
2 international airports
4 public aerodromes
9 private aerodromes
numerous helicopter alighting areas/pads
DEMAND from gliders, ultra-lights, improved access to parishes, redevelop abandoned WW-2 military aerodrome for cargo

6. Glider and Ultralight aerodrome
This is Blenheim Field, a rural area in St. Ann parish on the north coast of Jamaica a few miles west of Ochos Rios.
It started when a local land owner decided after being introduced to the sport in England that he wanted to glide in Jamaica. He brought glider instructors over from England in 1998 and began to ready his property for glider operations from a winch launched glider. The speed with which the club became operational was the subject of an article in Sailplane and Glider magazine in the summer of Presently there are two gliders and plans for a third and there is also some ultralight aircraft activity starting at the field.
It is noted for the fastest gliders in the air.
Glider and Ultralight aerodrome

7. Aerodrome Certification
Established formal process
Pre-application
discussion with JCAA
JCAA provides guidelines and forms
applicant to obtain land use approvals
if applicant does not, JCAA informs land use authorities and invites applicant to discussion
land use authorities object: no certificate issued
There is an established formal process that is covered by the existing and the future regulations. The guidance material used has been derived from Canadian material and was relatively easy to adapt as all snow and ice control program descriptions were removed..

8. Aerodrome Certification
Application Process (60 days if possible)
forms submitted, inspector assigned
site inspection, results communicated
certificate issued if standards met, deviations approved, operations manual approved
Certificate valid for one year
Interim certificate if special circumstances
Procedures for certificate amendment, suspension and surrender
Once the application forms are submitted, inspector schedules a site inspection and the results are provided to the applicant. During the inspection the things the inspector will look for are: standards for runway taxiway and apron geometrics, navigation aids, air traffic control facilities, crash fire rescue facilities, marking and lighting, obstacle limitation surfaces, Type A obstacle charts for the international airports, security in terms of aerodrome barriers to animals and unwanted access, airside vehicle control system, aerodrome safety program, bird and wildlife control (in Jamaica our larger wildlife may be goats, cattle or pigs), foreign object damage control systems and aerodrome staff training programs, fuel handling, airline and general aviation handling facilities and environmental.
There is an annual inspection program and surveillance is carried out during routine ramp inspection of air operators, maintenance facilities and in-flight inspections of air operators.
Jamaican guidance material contains detailed instructions for aerodrome safety inspections and for aerodrome certification, obstacle assessment and lists the relevant source documents to be used in safety regulation of aerodromes as well as some procedures for conduct of aeronautical studies to assess deviations from standards.
Copies of Jamaican guidance material is available as are the existing and proposed regulations, certification application forms and inspection forms used.Contingency and emergency plans are also examined for completeness and relevance.

9. Aerodrome Certification
Contingency Plans
bomb threat
hijack
fire
crash
Emergency Plans
hurricane
earthquake
flood
strike
Clearly, the subject of contingency planning has been at the forefront of every safety regulators attention and every aerodrome operators attention since the crule and tragic events of September 11th.
If man made problems were not enough, Jamaica is in the active hurricane path and has been devastated several times in the past. And, if hurricanes were not enough to keep us all busy, we have also been blessed with being located in an active earthquake zone. We have no volcanoes to deal with and we have no snow, ice or blizzards to make our maintenance difficult and challenging.
Like many places around the world, our main aerodromes and airports are situated in coastal areas, often on coastal flood plains or drained mangrove swamp coastal wetlands and this may make our heavy tropical rainfall a problem for drainage.
Where are we today, after our 1999 legislation changes and our upcoming regulatory amendments?

10. Aerodrome Certification
PROGRESS
2 internationals have operations manuals
active inspection program in place
certification now a growth industry
training of aerodrome staff
MOU with ATC, Security forces, emergency health facilities, weather service, ANS
We have been a little slow to get off the mark with our actual certification program due to staff shortages and the pressing need to focus on air operator safety regulation issues.
Mr. Alastair Narcisse, Director of Operations at the Norman Manley International Airport will speak on the work done to date in development of aerodrome operations manuals. He will speak from the point of view of the client of the safety regulator. Then I will discuss our new regulations and some of the specific challenges faced in Jamaica.

11. Demand for development hampered by terrain
This is the Ken Jones Aerodrome on the north coast of Jamaica. It has recently been the subject of a Ports Authority project to expand the marina at the nearby Port Antonio Harbour in to a mega-yacht facility and serve such events as the tall ships. In conjunction with the harbour development project it has been proposed that this aerodrome be expanded to be capable of taking executive jet aircraft. As you can see, the local terrain and site leave a lot to be desired and the project has been subject to an aeronautical study to determine what is feasible and operationally possible.
Demand for development hampered by terrain

12. Expan-sion options are Limited
Typical of many coastal airports around the world, the Norman Manley International is built on reclaimed land. Development options are very expensive.

13. But we did it anyway
Nevertheless, the runway and taxiway, apron and termainl building have all been subject to major renovation and expansion since 1998.
An ILS will be installed later this year and although this photo was taken in 2000 and you cannot se it, a new terminal radar dome now graces the far shoreline and will be operational in twelve more months.

14. Aerodrome Certification
Act was amended
New regulations were developed
Guidance material was developed
3 contract inspectors had Annex 14 experience
2 local inspectors trained in security
need to train local inspectors in Annex 14
I would like to expand on the need to train local inspectors. That is one objective of any consulting or assistance program, to eventually effect a skill and knowledge transfer and lessen the requirement for external assistance. Standardized training and common regulations and safety standards will lend feasibility to moving to a regional approach to aerodrome certification thereby bringing overall costs of such programs down for each individual state.
That need also translates to need to train airport staff as common training and certification of such training will help to build a greater pool of available expertise in the region..

15. Aerodrome Certification
NEW REGULATIONS
certified airports
registered aerodromes
certified must meet Annex 14
registered should meet Annex 14

16. Aerodrome Certification
NEW REGULATIONS
international airports and those served by scheduled air operators using aircraft with over 10 seats require certification, CAA may deem it necessary at any other
all aerodromes may be registered
no air operator may use an unregistered aerodrome
where standards cannot be met an aeronautical study should establish an equivalent level of safety
New regulations also include rules of conduct on aerodromes, requirement for control of access and vehicles.

17. Aerodrome Certification
NEW CHALLENGES
privatization
economic regulation of aerodromes
new large aircraft
enhanced security requirements
increasing environmental awareness
urbanization and encroachment
Privatization-dealing with airports as a business rather than another government activity.
May be some interface between economic regulator and safety regulator as we see a licensing function may be used.
Additional challenges that are common to most aerodromes and airports:

18. Aerodrome Certification
CHALLENGES
terrain, building materials, equipment
drainage
environmental
access versus control
fleet changes
limited resources
standards changes
Terrain often at a premium as most islands are hilly or mountainous, often the building materials may not exist on the island and there is a scarcity of construction equipment.
As previously mentioned, many airports are situated in coastal wetlands and drainage is a problem as is the environmental concern of loss of coastal wetlands.
In some areas there are still challenging issues of access versus control of access to prevent illegal activity.
Modernization of fleets is always going to present a challenge as no sooner do we renovate an airport to serve a new large aircraft than the builders make a new and bigger design with more demand for pavement changes or terminal changes.
Smaller states often have limited resources to react to regulatory issues and to new operational demands.
And last but not least, as ICAO does change the standards to reflect the new operational realities it is sometimes not possible to pour concrete as rapidly as the changes come into force and a lag is built into the safety compliance results. Now a quick look at some other Jamaican aerodromes and challenges.

19. Larger aircraft on smaller airports require offsetting operational procedures or restrictions to ensure that unsafe situations do not develop as a result of an aerodrome not meeting the required standard for that category of aircraft.
Larger Aircraft

20. Tinson pen aerodrome in downtown Kingston
Tinson pen aerodrome in downtown Kingston. This is good example of a downtown urban commuter airport being restricted by industrial and residential encroachment. Future development is going to be severely hampered..
Urban encroachment

21. Abandoned WW2 Aerodrome to be redeveloped for Cargo and Maintenance
Vernamfield aerodrome, a former WW2 military aerodrome abandoned in 1955
Note that agricultural encroachment will likely require any future operator to acquire land or relocate non-conforming activities to permit unrestricted aerodrome operations.
Abandoned WW2 Aerodrome to be redeveloped for Cargo and Maintenance

22. Agricultural encroachment
Port Esquivel aerodrome, a private aerodrome operated by a bauxite company.
Note site next to the sea and fishponds at inland end, maybe ideal for noise control purposes as to my knowledge no one has ever received a noise complaint from a fish!
Agricultural encroachment

23. Tulloch, a small private aerodrome used by aerial applicator
Tulloch, a small private aerodrome used by aerial applicator. Note the isolation of the site and the access versus control issue.
Access versus control

24. Norman Manley International Airport showing the contol tower and the Blue Mountains in the background.
The mountains affect the capacity of the airport by necessitating operational restrictions on SIDS and STARS altitudes and also have a major effect on local weather and winds.
TERRAIN

25. TERRAIN Ewarton aerodrome, another private bauxite company aerodrome.
Note the hilltop site, cross valley orientation, no room for development and crosswind, no room for expansion.
Summarize, we have talked about history of aerodromes, old laws, new laws and regulations, incorporation of ICAO standards by reference in regulations, development of guidance material, procedures for certification and inspection, forms used, challenges and problems and given a few glimpses of Jamaican aerodromes and airports. We hope this has been of interest and may be useful information as aerodrome certification advances to the same level as air operator safety oversight. In this exciting new ICAO initiative.
If there are any questions we would be pleased to take them now,
IRIE, No problem, Mon! Tanks.
TERRAIN

26. CONTACTS
JCAA , , fax ,
Association of Civil Aviation Authorities of the Caribbean, so far it is CARICOM states but it is not limited to CARICOM
ACAAC System Coordinator , fax ,