ENAC (National Agency for Civil Aviation) - Italy

Enac - the Italian Civil Aviation Authority - was established on 25th July 1997 by Legislative Decree no.250/97 as the National Authority committed to oversee the technical regulation, the surveillance and the control in the civil aviation field.

Enac is engaged in dealing with the diverse regulatory aspects of air transport system and performs monitoring functions related to the enforcement of the adopted rules regulating administrative and economical issues.

Safety and Security

The air transport issues part of Enac institutional mandate are various and varied. Its core business is doubtless represented by safety control, in its double meaning of safety and security, according to internationally agreed terms of reference. Safety is understood as the safe planning, construction, maintenance and exploitation of aircraft, as well as the skill assessment of air carriers and in-flight personnel. Security is meant as the land-side safeguard of passengers, on board aircraft, inside and outside the airports, aimed at the prevention of illicit acts.

Passenger Rights

Enac fulfils, inter alia, the objective of guaranteeing the quality of services rendered to consumers and the protection of passengers' rights. Enac has issued the Passenger's Charter and the Charter of Airport Standard Services. The first document is a practical vade mecum gathering the Regulatory frame in force at national, European and International level explaining the claim and compensation procedures available to passengers in case of non compliance with the existing regulation on air passengers' protection. The second document sets out the minimum quality standards airport operators are bound to comply with, in relation to their relevant services.

Environment

Enac is strongly engaged at national and international level in pushing forward decision making processes for a policy of environmental and territory protection. This is carried out through attentive assessments aiming at limiting the environment impact on airport areas and reducing aircraft acoustic and atmospheric pollution.

International activity

Enac represents Italy in the major international civil aviation organizations such as ICAO, ECAC, EASA and Eurocontrol - European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation; with all of them Enac undertakes a continuous and fruiful dialogue and cooperation; within each of them performs leading functions as well.

Other activities

According to its institutional mandate, Enac performs, in addition to the issues referred to above:

• preliminary inquiries leading to the entrustment to joint-stock companies of concessions for the total management of airports;
• the entry into force of the Legislative Decree regarding the free access to the market of handling services in national airports;
• regulating procedures of airport services;
• examination and assessment of land use projects and intervention programmes, as well as investments and airport development;
• preliminary evaluation of acts regarding tariffs and airport charges;
• evaluation of the conditions for warranting the application of state funded fares on certain city pairs;
• certification of personnel operating in the aeronautical/air navigation field;
• enforcement of recommendations issued by the National Flight Safety Agency. 

Enac headquarters are in Rome and representative offices are located in the major Italian airports.