Legislative amendments to improve aviation safety and security

The President of the Republic approved the legislative amendments on aviation on 27 June 2025. The amendments aim to improve aviation safety and security. The Acts will enter into force on 1 September 2025.

The Act revises the provisions on aviation qualifications in order to make improvements to aviation safety and security by preventing accidents and dangerous situations.

For example, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom will be given the right to notify an employer or contractor when action has been taken to revoke or suspend an aircrew licence or medical certificate.

If Traficom notices safety or security deficiencies, it will have the option to intervene in aviation-related activities that are not subject to a permit or reporting obligation. This will apply, for example, to parachute jump instructors and glider pilots. Traficom can prohibit or restrict the activities until the deficiencies in safety or security are rectified.

The amendments will clarify the legal situation for conducting breath tests, and make the current monitoring more effective. An employer will have the right to carry out breath tests of aircrew members or persons working in roles in an air navigation facility that affect aviation safety, in order to determine whether the employee is under the influence of alcohol.

In its statement, Parliament required the Government to set up a separate project to examine the amendments broadening the scope of breath test regulation and their impacts.

The Aviation Act provisions on obstacle approvals will be amended if challenges are identified in their application. Any object raised from the ground that interferes with aviation, including buildings, cranes and power lines, can be considered an obstacle to air navigation.

In future, already the application for a permission to set up an obstacle must be accompanied by reports outlining the impacts. The reports will be submitted by flight procedures planners working in Finland and by the operator of the affected aerodrome. They can also charge a reasonable fee for the reports.

What’s next?

The Acts will enter into force on 1 September 2025.

The Government will examine the amendments broadening the scope of the breath test regulation and their impacts in a separate project.

Inquiries:

Saara Louko, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 29 534 2048, [email protected]