NIL

General:

The level of protection to be provided for the airport is either a numerical or alpha numerical classification, based on the level of risk associated with the airport operations, and corresponds to its category for prevention, rescuing and fire fighting.

The level of protection to be provided for the airport is related to the aircrafts operating on it, their dimensions, and its classification as categories of certification, as defened in RBAC 23 and RBAC 25, approved by ANAC Resolutions nº 77 and 78, from 22 April 2009, or any regulations that may replace them. It is expressed by a numerical classification, as a result of a joint evaluation of these requirements.

The level of protection required for the airport operating exclusively with helicopters, is related to the total dimension of the largest helicopter operating there, and will be
expressed by an alphanumerical classification, as a result of an evaluation of such aircraft.

3.1.1. Civil airports open to public air traffic are classified, in the terms of this document according to the total volume of passengers processed (embarked + disembarked) in the previous year, considering the data available at ANAC.

3.1.2. Four classes have been established, from the simplest to the most complex, as follows:

The following table presents a summary of the airport classification adopted, in the terms of this document:

Determination of airplane category:

Airplane category is obtained from the evaluation of its total length and maximum width of its fuselage, as described below, also using the table 1:

a) After having evaluated the airplane’s total length, place it in its corresponding length interval, as shown in column[1], getting on column [3] the category of the same;

b) Check its width, and compare it with the values shown in column [2];

c) If the fuselage’s maximum width is greater than the maximum width in column [2] the category for that airplane will be one category higher.

Table 1 – Determination of Aircraft Category.

 

 

Determination Of Helicopter Category

Helicopter category is obtained from the evaluation of its total length, as described below, also using table 2:

a) After having evaluated the helicopter’s total length, including its rotors, place it in its corresponding length interal, as shown in colomn [1]. Then the result given in column [2] is the corresponding helicopter category.

Table 2 – Determination of Helicopter Category.

For determining the level of protection required for an airport, only certified aircrafts included in such categories as Normal, Regional Transportation and Transportation, in the terms of RBAC 23 and RBAC 25, or any regulations that may replace them, will be taken into consideration, no matter what the aircraft category determined by the previous method.

The airport Infrastructure Superintendency of ANAC (SIA) will keep in its website the updated data on the classification of those aircrafts certified by the Agency, alongside with their respective categories, determined by the previous method.

The level of protection to be provided for a Class IV airport, as established in the airport classification of this document, will equal the category of the largest aircraft operating, or to be operated, regardless its regularity.

Aircrafts transporting passengers and/or cargo in charter flights, military aircrafts and general aviation will be taken into account for the purpose of determining the airport category, only if they make more than one monthly frequency.

The level of protection to be provided for Class III, II and I airports, as established in the airport classification of this document, will be determined by means of a joint evaluation of the largest aircrafts operating, or to be operated, on regular basis on the airport, and the number of movements of such aircrafts, registered on the three consecutive months with the highest amount of movements along the year, as follows:

a) Aircrafts operating with regularity on the airport, under the same category, are grouped together;
b) The number of movements of the aircrafts operating with regularity on the airport, under the same category, is added; and

The airport category will be:

a) For the airports in which aircrafts operating with regularity, whose categories are equal or greater than 6:
(i) The same category as the one of the largest aircraft operating with regularity, when the sum of the movements either equals or exceeds 700; or
(ii) A category below the one of the largest aircraft operating with regularity, when the sum of the movements is less than 700.
b) For the airports in which aircrafts operating with regularity, whose categories are less than 5 and greater than 2:
(i) A category below the one of the largest aircraft operating with regularity, when the sum of the movements either equals or exceeds 700; or
(ii) Two categories below the one of the largest aircraft operating with regularity, when the sum of the movements is less than 700.

Aircrafts operating with regularity, either airplanes or helicopters, for the purpose of determining the airport category, are those with two weekly frequencies in the three consecutive months with the highest amount of movements along the year.

Aircrafts transporting passengers and/or cargo in charter flights, military aircrafts and general aviation will be taken into account for the purpose of determining the airport category, only if they’re defined as “with regularity”.

The required level of protection to be provided to either surface or rooftop heliports shall equal the category of the largest aircraft operating, or to be operated, as established in item 2.2 of this document

In Class I airports, where airplanes whose categories are 4 or less operate, and where helicopters operate with regularity, the determination of these airports category will be obtained by the correspondence indicated in table 3.

Table 3 – Correspondence between helicopter and airplane categories.

The airport category, as established in item 2.3.8 of this document, will de the highest classification found, after having done the match between the categories of helicopters and airplanes operating with regularity on the airport, regardless the number of movements of such aircrafts.

Except for those airports open to internacional air traffic, an airport will be considered as non-categorized if one or more of the following conditions below are me:

- Public airports in which there are no aircrafts operating with regularity;
- Private airports, except for those where the operation of regular and charter flights is found;
- Airports in which the largest aircraft operating with regularity belongs to the category named as Normal, in the terms of RBAC 23 and RBAC 25
- Airports in which the category of the largest aircraft operating with regularity is either 2 or less, except helicopters; and
- Class I airports in which the category of the largest aircraft operating with regularity is 3, except helicopters.

Even though the rule defined in item non-categorized airports of this document does not configure a case of “discrepancy” (to be defined below), the airport operator shall, as long as such situation lasts, keep the responsible entities and organizations for aeronautical information disclosure, regarding to the inexistence of fire level of protection in the respective airport.

It is defined as the eventual and transitory situatio, in wich the existing level of protection of an airport is lower than the required one for that aiport, due to the unavailability of material and/or human resources.

When the discrepancy is detected, the person responsible for the ARFF services shall:

a) determine the existing level of protection, in the terms of ANAC Resolution nº 115/2009;
b) report the existing level of protection to higher instances, so that the appropriate action is taken to reestablish the required level of protection; and
c) report the existing level of protection to the local Air Traffic Control service.

The minimum amount of water for foam production and extinguishing agents, both principal and complementary, that is necessary in the airports and that will be carried on the rescue and fire fighting vehicles shall be in accordance with the airport category or heliport category, determined under tables 4 and 5, respectively.

The minimum amount of water for foam production and extinguishing agents, both principal and complementary, that is necessary in elevated heliports shall be in accordance with the heliport category, determined under table 6.

The minimum amount of foam concentrates separately provided on vehicles for foam production shall be enough to:
- Enable the production of two loads of foam solution, without having to reload the foam concentrate tank; and.
- Meet the proportions to the quantity of water provided and foam concentrate selected, as established by the manufacturer. Foam Solution and complementary agent discharge rates shall not be less than the figures determined under tables 4, 5 and 6.

While specific ANAC complementary legislation is not edited, additional information on principal and complementary extinguishing agents, as well as information on the required physical properties and fire extinguishing performance criteria for foam, shall be provided, when requested from airport operators, by ANAC.

The airport operator, in whose airport the operation of aircrafts using fuel with polar solvents are found, shall, while specific ANAC complementary legislation is not edited, evaluate the type of foam concentrate to be used having the NBR 15511, edited by the Brazilian Association of Technical Norms (ABNT), as its basis.

Table 4 – Minimum usable amounts of extinguishing agents per airport category:

 

Table 5 – Minimum usable amounts of extinguishing agents per surface heliport category.

Table 6 – Minimum usable amounts of extinguishing agents per elevated heliport category.

The airport operator shall keep ANAC and the entities and organizations for aeronautical information disclosure updated on the existing level of protection under his administration, especially when it comes to cases of discrepancy, as established in item 30 of Res. 115/2009 Annex and the procedures indicated in item discrepancy.

The existing level of protection in an airport shall be expressed in relation to the available ARFF service resources, as established by ANAC Resolution nº115/2009.

Operators of public civil airports, either shared with military institutions or not, regardless the number of processed passengers, shall guarantee the disclosure, in the Aeronautical Information System, of the existing level of protection available on those airports, as established in ANAC Resolution nº 115/2009, and, when applicable, the inexistence of ARFF services on them (article 5º, paragraph III).

Further information refer to the full version of ANAC Resolution nº115/2009, available on ANAC’s website.