The European Commission has published new Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/111 of 23 January 2025 amending Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 as regards continuing airworthiness for electric- and hybrid-propulsion aircraft and other non-conventional aircraft. Commission Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 lays down the requirements for the continuing airworthiness of aircraft, including the qualifications and licences of the personnel responsible for the release to service of products after maintenance, but previous versions of the regulation did not fully cover all eVTOL aircraft types.
According to the new rule:
“By considering all tilt-rotors as complex motor-powered aircraft, Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 was not commensurate for the simplest ones as stringent requirements applicable to any complex motor-powered aircraft was also applicable to the simplest tilt-rotors, for which less stringent requirements should apply by comparison with simple aircraft of other categories, namely aeroplanes and helicopters. Therefore the definition of complex motor-powered aircraft should therefore be amended.”
The new rule broadly brings eVTOLs within the umbrella of EU rules covering maintenance and support of all EU-registered aircraft, for example requiring that eVTOL operators will need to ensure their maintenance programmes have been approved by the competent authority in accordance with point M.A.302 of Annex I (Part-M), due maintenance has been performed and certified in accordance with point 145.A.48 and 145.A.50 of Annex II (Part-145) and an airworthiness review has been performed and a new airworthiness review certificate has been issued in accordance with point M.A.901 of Annex I (Part-M).
For more information
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202500111
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