Aerodrome Manual Template & Guidance

As part of the aerodrome certification process, applicable aerodrome operators shall ensure that an aerodrome manual, containing inter alia, information on how operational procedures and their safe management will be delivered is submitted for approval/acceptance by CAAF prior to the granting of an aerodrome certificate.

The aerodrome manual describes all the information, for each certified aerodrome, pertaining to the aerodrome site, facilities, services, equipment, operating procedures, organization and management, including its SMS. However, the complexity and size of the aerodrome may necessitate the SMS to be included in a separate manual.

The aerodrome manual should clearly define, for each of the items, which coordination and procedures have been put into place in the case of multiple responsible stakeholders.

Where the aerodrome operator implements specific procedures related to other reference documents such as CAAF SDs and ICAO Annexes, these may be described in the aerodrome manual.

CAAF has published a Guidance Material (GM) to provide guidance to both the CAA regulatory staff and the aerodrome operators on what is required to be published in the aerodrome manual and the best practice in developing this manual.

The Particulars to be included in the aerodrome manual have been uplifted from the ICAO Manual on Certification of Aerodromes (Doc 9774) Appendix 1 and Procedures for Air Navigation Services (PANS) – Aerodromes (Doc 9981).

Wildlife Hazard Management

Wildlife management involves manipulating an animal’s behavior or its habitat in order to achieve a specific goal with regards to an animal’s behavior, population, or geographic distribution.

At aerodromes, the goal of wildlife management is to change the behavior of animals so that they do not occupy critical safety zones where aircraft operate. The key to managing wildlife at aerodromes is to understand the animals’ basic requirements and how their behavior can lead to an aviation safety hazard. Essentially, it is imperative to know why animals behave the way they do.​​​​​​​

An aerodrome operator must establish a Wildlife Hazard Management Programme​​​​​​​ to minimise or eliminate any wildlife hazard that presents a hazard to aircraft operations at their aerodrome in areas within their authority. The management of wildlife, especially birds, is critical for aircraft operational safety. Bird and other wildlife strikes put the lives of aircraft crew members and their passengers at risk and cost the Global Aviation Industry Hundreds of Millions of dollars in damages.​​​​​​​

Safety Management System for Aerodromes

​​​​​​​The application of a systematic, proactive, and well-defined safety program (as is inherent in a SMS) allows an organization producing a product or service to strike a realistic and efficient balance between safety and production.

The forecast growth in air transportation will require new measures and a greater effort from all aviation stakeholders including airport operators—in order to achieve a continuing improvement in the level of aviation safety.

The use of SMS at aerodromes contributes to this effort by increasing the likelihood that aerodrome operators will detect and correct safety problems before those problems result in an aircraft accident or incident.

In November 2005, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) amended Annex 14, Volume I (Airport Design and Operations) to require member States to have certificated international airports establish an SMS.

This was followed up by Fiji and CAAF and implemented into National Law as well. All aerodrome operators in Fiji are required to establish SMS.