Initial certification of an ATO
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and Annex VII of Part ORA of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, each aircrew training organisation requires an ATO (Approved Training Organisation) certificate in order to provide training courses.
An organisation which wishes to obtain the certificate has to submit to the CAA all relevant documentation, including prescribed manuals.
Applicants for the initial issue of the certificate shall complete the prescribed application form that shall contain signatures of all responsible persons and representatives.
The application for an initial certification needs to be provided at least 90 days prior to the beginning of training courses to the address:
Civil Aviation Agency (CAA)
Kotnikova ulica 19a
SI – 1000 Ljubljana
Formal application for a new ATO organisation
The application shall contain all references and signatures of all nominated persons. It is considered complete if the required manuals and documents are attached.
| Application | Number of application | Current version |
| Application for initial ATO certificate | FCL.APL-000031 | 01 |
Procedure for initial certification
The procedure for the initial certification is described in the following table:
| Task | Description |
| Initial meeting | An organisation interested in obtaining an ATO certificate sends a message to the CAA (info@caa.si) with a brief explanation of the purpose of the training. The CAA organizes an initial meeting with the organisation to exchange information regarding the requirements and further procedures. |
| ATO application | The official application form shall be completed, signed by the legal representative of the organisation and delivered to the Civil Aviation Agency, Kotnikova ulica 19a, SI 1000 Ljubljana. |
| Appointment of a commission | The CAA establishes a commission for further communication with the organisation. The commission performs verification of compliance with the applicable requirements, including interviews with personnel, and inspections of the organization’s facilities. |
| Review of documentation | The documentation submitted prior to the audit shall include:
|
| Interview with responsible personnel | An interview is conducted with the responsible personnel to assess their competence in performing their duties. Each responsible person (e.g. Accountable manager, Head of training, Chief flying instructor, Chief theoretical knowledge instructor, Compliance manager, Safety manager) has to know the applicable regulations, his/her responsibilities and relevant procedures of the organisation. The CAA issues a decision of approval for each nominated person based on the completed interview. |
| Conduct of an audit | The CAA performs an audit of the organisation which includes checks of the facilities (classroom, briefing room), office and data storage (training records), availability of training materials, establishment of the compliance and safety system. The organisation receives a written record of an audit containing any identified non-compliances. Then, the organisation provides the evidences of corrective actions for such non-compliances before the ATO certificate is issued. |
| Finalisation of the process | When the requirements are fulfilled, the decision is issued together with the ATO certificate and the approved organisation’s manuals. The organisation covers the costs in accordance with the Tariff for the provision of services of the CAA. |
Checklists for organisations
The organisation has to prepare the relevant manuals in accordance with Annex I and Annex VII of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, including applicable requirements from Part NCO/NCC, Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, Part SERA, Regulation (EU) No 923/2012, Regulation (EU) No 376/2014, and the Slovenian Aviation Act.
In order to assist with the preparation of the manuals, the CAA has prepared several checklists. The organisation completes them with references to the documentation and sends them for verification, together with the manuals.
| Check list | Document number |
| General documentation review | FCL.CHK-000002 |
| Operations manual (OM) | FCL.CHK-000003 |
| Training manual (TM) | FCL.CHK-000004 |
| Type rating training manual (TM/TR) | FCL.CHK-58 |
| Management system documentation (CMM/SMM) | FCL.CHK-59 |
