That sector of business aviation that the JAA has recognised as corporate aviation offers an unequalled degree of flexibility to those business leaders who develop industry and provide employment to so many people around the world. If that flexibility were lost, the justification for the corporate aircraft would be lost too and national economies would suffer.

The task of the aviation regulator is to draft regulations based on safety requirements but these regulations need to facilitate the operation of aircraft, not restrict them without good cause.

Over the last two years, the Work Group tasked with drafting European regulations for corporate aviation has worked very hard indeed to draft facilitating regulations, constructive regulations, regulations that will be acceptable to operators who must maintain a very high level of safety and flexibility. Soon corporate operators will have the chance to judge for themselves how acceptable these new regulations will be.

It may be that these new regulations, currently titled JAR OPS 0 & JAR OPS 2, may never materialise as JAA regulations; it may be that they will form early EASA regulations.

Either way, they are not likely to impact on corporate aviation for some time. This is no reason to lose interest in the issue, however. Corporate operators would be well advised to take a close interest in the draft regulations when they go out for consultation.

The point has been made often to the various authorities that regulations need to be acceptable to the operators if they are to be effective. This point has merit given that the EU ethos supports listening to stakeholders - i.e. the importance of consultation.

Corporate operators are good, responsible, professionals with a duty to maintain a high level of safety and flexibility with or without regulation by any authority.

They recognise, however, that it is necessary to work hard to maintain high standards; it is necessary to review practices and procedures, to undergo recurrent training and examination. These demanding high standards are not met by restrictive regulations.

Quite independent of impending regulations, the international business aviation community took the initiative in producing an International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) and a Derivative Operations Manual, accompanied by an Audit System whereby operators are audited by their peers.

This initiative earned the respect of authorities worldwide and has been a great assistance in

the drafting of European regulations affecting corporate aviation, regulations that may be used as a model for revised regulations in the USA.

I urge corporate operators to become constructively involved in any consultation procedures involving new regulations - and to protect the need to maintain a high level of flexibility as well as that prime requirement - safety.

Derek Leggett, Chief Executive, Business Aircraft Users Association