- 1
- Each Contracting Party may request consultations at any time concerning safety standards in any area relating to aircrew, aircraft or their operation adopted by the other Contracting Party. Such consultations shall take place within thirty (30) days of that request.
- 2
- If, following such consultations, one Contracting Party finds that the other Contracting Party does not effectively maintain and administer safety standards in any such area that are at least equal to the minimum standards established at that time pursuant to the Convention, the first Contracting Party shall notify the other Contracting Party of those findings and the steps considered necessary to conform with those minimum standards and that other Contracting Party shall take appropriate corrective action. Failure by the other Contracting Party to take appropriate action within fifteen (15) days or such longer period as may be agreed shall be grounds for the application of Article 4 (Revocation and Suspension of Authorization) of this Agreement.
- 3
- Notwithstanding the obligations mentioned in Article 33 of the Convention, it is agreed that any aircraft operated by the Airline or Airlines of one Contracting Party on services to or from the Territory of the other Contracting Party may, while within the Territory of the other Contracting Party, be made the subject of an examination by the authorised representatives of the other Contracting Party, on board and around the aircraft to check both the validity of the aircraft documents and those of its crew and the apparent condition of the aircraft and its equipment (in this Article called “ramp inspection”), provided this does not lead to unreasonable delay.
- 4
- If any ramp inspection or series of ramp inspections gives rise to:
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- a)serious concerns that an aircraft or the operation of an aircraft does not comply with the minimum standards established at that time pursuant to the Convention; or
- b)serious concerns that there is a lack of effective maintenance and administration of safety standards established at that time pursuant to the Convention,
- the Contracting Party carrying out the inspection shall, for the purposes of Article 33 of the Convention, be free to conclude that the requirements under which the certificates or licenses in respect of that aircraft or in respect of the crew of that aircraft had been issued or rendered valid, or that the requirements under which that aircraft is operated, are not equal to or above the minimum standards established pursuant to the Convention.
- 5
- In the event that access for the purpose of undertaking a ramp inspection of an aircraft operated by the Airline(s) of one Contracting Party in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article is denied by the representative of that Airline, the other Contracting Party shall be free to infer that serious concerns of the type referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article arise and draw the conclusions referred in that paragraph.
- 6
- Each Contracting Party reserves the right to suspend or vary the operating authorization of an Airline of the other Contracting Party immediately in the event the first Contracting Party concludes, whether as a result of a ramp inspection, a series of ramp inspections, a denial of access for ramp inspection, consultations or otherwise, that immediate action is essential to the safety of an Airline’s operation.
- 7
- Any action by one Contracting Party in accordance with paragraphs 2 or 6 of this Article shall be discontinued once the basis for the taking of that action ceases to exist.
- 8
- If the privileges or condition of the licenses or certificates referred to in Article 13 (Recognition of Certificates and Licenses) of this Agreement, issued by the Aeronautical Authorities of one Contracting Party to any person or Designated Airline(s) or in respect of an aircraft operating the Agreed Services on the Specified Routes would permit a difference from the standards established under the Convention, and which difference has been filed with the International Civil Aviation Organization, the Aeronautical Authorities of the other Contracting Party may request consultations in accordance with Article 17 (Consultation and Amendment) of this Agreement with the Aeronautical Authorities of that Contracting Party with a view to satisfying themselves that the practice in question is acceptable to them. Failure to reach a satisfactory agreement will constitute grounds for the application of Article 4 (Revocation and Suspension of Authorization) of this Agreement.
- 9
- When the Kingdom of the Netherlands has designated an Airline whose regulatory control is exercised and maintained by another Member State of the European Union, the rights of the other Contracting Party under this Article shall apply equally in respect of the adoption, exercise or maintenance of safety standards by that other Member State of the European Union and in respect of the operating authorization of that Airline.
