ICAO Annex 2 and SERA Overview: Scope, Definitions, and Aerodrome Operations
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 923/2012, known as SERA (Standardised European Rules of the Air), establishes common rules of the air and operational provisions regarding services and procedures in air navigation.
Objective and Scope
The objective of SERA is to apply common rules to general air traffic. It applies to:
- Airspace users and aircraft operating into, within, or out of the Union.
- Aircraft bearing the nationality and registration marks of a Member State of the Union, operating in any airspace (provided they do not conflict with the rules of the country overflown).
Relationship with ICAO Annex 2
SERA implements ICAO Annex 2 standards into European legislation.
- Over the High Seas: The rules of ICAO Annex 2 apply without exception.
- Over National Territory: The rules published by the State having jurisdiction over the territory overflown take precedence.
Important Definitions
- Flight Visibility: The visibility forward from the cockpit of an aircraft in flight.
- Ground Visibility: The visibility at an aerodrome as reported by an accredited observer or by automatic systems.
- Danger Area: An airspace of defined dimensions within which activities dangerous to the flight of aircraft may exist at specified times.
- Restricted Area: An airspace of defined dimensions, above the land areas or territorial waters of a State, within which the flight of aircraft is restricted in accordance with certain specified conditions.
Operation at Aerodromes
An aircraft operating on or in the vicinity of an aerodrome shall:
- Observe other traffic for the purpose of avoiding collision.
- Conform to or avoid the pattern of traffic formed by other aircraft in operation.
- Make all turns to the left when approaching for a landing and after taking off, unless otherwise indicated.
- Land and take off into the wind, unless safety or runway configuration determine otherwise.