EU ground handling rules
27 March 2028: ground handling comes under EU aviation safety rules.
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20 sets, for the first time, safety requirements for the organisations that provide ground handling at EU airports; Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/23 sets how the authorities will oversee them. What applies, point by point — and the evidence each point will ask of you.
Point ORGH.MGM.201, the information security management system, applies.
People working in ground handling at EU airports every day, according to EASA.
Part-ORGH
What the rules ask, point by point.
Point numbers and headings are those of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2025/20. The two right-hand columns are our reading and what our agent does — not legal advice.
| Point | Heading in the regulation | The evidence it will call for | What the agent keeps ready |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subpart DEC | Declaration | A declaration consistent with what you actually operate | A draft built from your records, for your accountable manager to sign |
| ORGH.MGM.200 | General requirements for the management system | Responsibilities, risks and monitoring you can show working | A gap register against your manuals, every gap with an owner |
| ORGH.MGM.210 | Personnel | Who does what, and proof that they are competent | A qualification register; lapsed qualifications on the roster flagged |
| ORGH.GEN.160 | Reporting of safety-related occurrences | Reports to the authority and the parties concerned, within the deadlines | Reports drafted within 72 hours; follow-up at 30 days and three months |
| ORGH.GEN.165 | Safety reporting system | A system that collects and analyses what staff report | A categorised report log, with trends by cause |
| ORGH.GEN.150 | Findings and corrective actions | Every finding closed with its corrective action | Findings followed to closure, each with an owner and a deadline |
| ORGH.GEN.130 | Management of changes | Changes assessed before they take effect | A change log with its assessment attached |
| ORGH.GEN.125 | Use of industry standards | Your own operational procedures, industry standards, or both | Variations from IGOM recorded and justified |
| ORGH.MGM.205 | Contracted services or products | Control over what you contract out | A register of contracted services and their evidence |
| ORGH.MGM.201 | Information security management system | Applies from 27 March 2031 | Least-privilege access, no credentials in prompts, every access in the ledger |
Where to start
Start with one process at one station, in six weeks.
The Part-ORGH gap register, the qualification register or occurrence reporting — one of them, on your own records, judged on one indicator you choose before day one. The same agents then extend the evidence process by process and station by station, all the way to the declaration.
Start a pilot project How we billSources
Every date and heading on this page comes from these documents.
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20 of 19 December 2024 — requirements for the safe provision of ground handling services and for organisations providing them
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/23 of 19 December 2024 — requirements for the oversight of ground handling services and organisations providing them
- EASA, 7 March 2025 — ground handling’s importance to aviation safety recognised in new rules
- Regulation (EU) 376/2014 — reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation
- IATA, 19 May 2026 — ground damage, loading errors and ISAGO figures for 2025