Government proposes legislative amendments to improve aviation safety

The Government submitted to Parliament a legislative proposal on aviation on 3 April 2025. The proposal aims to improve aviation safety.

The government proposal revises the provisions on aviation qualifications in order to make major improvements to aviation safety by preventing accidents and dangerous situations. For example, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom would be given the right to notify an employer or contractor when action has been taken to revoke or suspend an aircrew licence or medical certificate.

If Traficom notices safety deficiencies, it would have the option to intervene in aviation-related activities that are not subject to a permit or reporting obligation. This would apply, for example, to parachute jump instructors and glider pilots. Traficom could prohibit or restrict the activities until the deficiencies in safety were rectified.

The amendments would clarify the legal situation for conducting breath tests, and make the current monitoring more effective. An employer would have the right to carry out breath tests of aircrew members or persons working in roles in an air navigation facility that affect aviation safety, in order to determine whether the employee is under the influence of alcohol.

The Aviation Act provisions on obstacle approvals would be amended if challenges were identified in their application. Any object raised from the ground that interferes with aviation, including buildings, cranes and power lines, can be considered an obstacle to air navigation.

When an application for a permission to set up an obstacle is submitted under the current regulation, the impact assessment requires work at the application processing stage, especially by aerodrome operators and those planning flight procedures. They need to carry out an impact assessment and submit their opinion to Traficom.

The legislative proposal suggests that the application for a permission to set up an obstacle should be accompanied by reports outlining the impacts. The reports would be submitted by flight procedures planners working in Finland and by the operator of the affected aerodrome. They could also charge a reasonable fee for the reports.

What’s next?

Parliament's plenary session will hold a referral debate on the government proposal. The date for the debate will be announced on Parliament's website in Finnish and Swedish (Tulevat täysistunnot / Kommande plenum). 

After the referral debate, a parliamentary committee will discuss the proposal and draft a report. Parliament will then debate the matter again in a plenary session.

Inquiries:

Saara Louko, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 295 342 048, saara.louko(at)gov.fi

Iida Huhtanen, Senior Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 342 613, iida.huhtanen(at)gov.fi (obstacles to air navigation)