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Airworthiness Directives

Airworthiness Directives are issued by EASA, acting in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 on behalf of the European Community, its Member States and of the European third countries that participate in the activities of EASA under Article 66 of that Regulation.

In accordance with EC 2042/2003 Annex I, Part-M.A.301, the continuing airworthiness of an aircraft shall be ensured by accomplishing any applicable ADs. Consequently, no person may operate an aircraft to which an AD applies, except in accordance with the requirements of that AD unless otherwise specified by the Agency [EC 2042/2003 Annex I, Part-M.A.303] or agreed with the Authority of the State of Registry [EC 216/2008, Article 14(4) exemption].

ADs applicable to an EASA approved type certificate are those ADs which have been issued or adopted by the Agency.
ADs are issued by the Agency through Agency decisions.
ADs are adopted by the Agency through:

  • for ADs issued after 28-09-2003: ED Decision 2/2003 on the implementation of airworthiness directives for products, parts and appliances designed in third countries
  • for ADs issued before 28-09-2003: EU Commission Regulation (EC) 1702/2003 article 2 (3)(a)(iii) (ADs issued by the State of Design for products, parts and appliances)

The dissemination of airworthiness directives to aircraft owners is a responsibility of the State of Registry and does not belong to the Agency.

Sensitive Security Airworthiness Directive (SSAD)

An SSAD is an AD issued or adopted by EASA that mandates certain corrective actions, the content of which includes security sensitive information.

An SSAD will be disseminated by EASA to those states having affected aircraft on the register. Further distribution of the SSAD to operators of the affected aircraft or other concerned parties remains under State of Registry responsibility, and should be done on a "need to know" basis only.

An SSAD record is uploaded in the EASA AD publishing tool, but only after the end of the SSAD compliance time and without attachments;

Continuing Airworthiness Procedure

The Airworthiness Directives publishing tool

The EASA Airworthiness Directives publishing tool offers a complete list of Airworthiness Directives that have been issued by EASA or have received an EASA approval number since 28 September 2003. The tool also contains all Proposed Airworthiness Directives (PAD) and allows users to submit their comments during the consultation period.

After 15th of September 2008, new Safety Information Bulletins, Foreign State of Design Safety Publications and Foreign State of Design ADs are published within the EASA AD tool.

The subscription service for new publications enables users to define their own filter and to receive notifications for these filtered Documents.

Please consult the user guide for information on how to view and filter new publications and on how to subscribe to their automatic notification

All the ADs issued by the NAAs prior to 28 September 2003 (start date of the Agency) are not yet included and should be retrieved from the NAA websites.

For real time Continuing Airworthiness Publications the AD Tool can be used at: http://ad.easa.europa.eu

Alternative Methods of Compliance to Airworthiness Directives (AMOC to ADs)

An Alternative Method of Compliance (AMOC) is an EASA approved deviation to an AD. It is a different way, other than the one specified in an AD, to address an unsafe condition on products, parts and appliances. An AMOC must provide an acceptable level of safety, equivalent to the level of safety intended for compliance with the original AD.

To apply for AMOC to ADs, fill first the EASA form 42 and send it back to:

For questions about AMOC to ADs please visit the dedicated FAQ section.

Safety Information Bulletins (SIB)

Formerly named Safety Information Notices. SIBs are for information only; they do not contain mandatory instructions.

Safety Information Bulletins (SIB)

Non-EU Member State Airworthiness Directives

For products, parts and appliances, for which the Agency only exercises the design responsibilities of the State of registry, its policy is to endorse automatically the airworthiness directives issued by the State of design, except if it itself issues a different airworthiness directive before the date of effectivity of the State of design airworthiness directive (Decision 2/2003 of 14 October 2003).

Click here For the list of Non-EU Member State ADs

Additional Documents - Meetings Proceedings

EASA AD Workshop with NAAs of 15th October 2008 - Click to download the presentations given

Useful links

While the dissemination of airworthiness directives to aircraft owners is a responsibility of the State of Registry, the EASA wishes to ensure that website visitors are able to find detailed information about the ADs listed in the .pdf documents above. The links above offer direct links to AD pages at EU-Member National Aviation Authorities and related bodies.

Contact Information

Inquiries relating to Airworthiness Directives and Proposed Airworthiness Directives should be sent to: