1. General conditions under which aerodromes/heliports and associated facilities are available for use

The Latvian Civil Aviation Agency is responsible for aerodrome certification and the oversight of certified aerodromes (see GEN 1.1).

The operator of the aerodrome is responsible for the administration of the aerodrome and provision of the associated facilities and services. Information about aerodrome operators is published in part AD 2.

The type of traffic permitted to use the aerodrome/heliport is published in AD 1.3. Commercial air transport flights are permitted to take-off and landing at certified public aerodromes for scheduled and/or non-scheduled traffic in accordance with the procedures prescribed in part AD 2.

Civil aerodromes at which commercial air transport of passengers, cargo and mail, including air taxi, can be carried out are considered aerodromes for public use. The remainder are considered aerodromes for restricted use.

Private aerodromes/heliports are certified for general aviation flights and aerial work only. Most of them are available subject to the owner’s permission. A number of non-certified private aerodromes/heliports are also located throughout the country. Non-certified aerodromes are not published in the Latvian AIP and are not under the oversight of the Latvian Civil Aviation Agency.

2. Applicable ICAO documents

The Standards and Recommended Practices of ICAO Annex 14, Volume I and II, are applied. Differences to these provisions are detailed in GEN 1.7.

Use of certified military aerodromes in the Republic of Latvia by aircraft other than State registered aircraft is allowed only with prior permission (PPR).

Promulgation of a runway as available for Category II operations means that it is equipped as required and low visibility procedures have been approved.

At aerodromes with runways certified for such operations, foreign operators do not need a special approval from the Civil Aviation Agency for low visibility operations (LVO) and Category II approaches in Latvia. An approval issued by the authority in the state of registry/state of operator to perform LVO and Category II approaches is sufficient.

The low visibility procedures are applied for the protection of aircraft operating in such weather conditions and to ensure the required quality of ILS signals.

Any failure or change in the state of operation of any of the facilities required for Category II operations will be notified by NOTAM, ATIS or ATC.

For details of low visibility procedures, see the local aerodrome regulations for the appropriate aerodrome (AIP, AD 2.22).

1. Introduction

1.1 This section of the AIP specifies the notified method of calculating Aerodrome Operating Minima (AOM).

2. General Requirements

2.1 Public transport aircraft shall observe AOM and aerial work and private aircraft shall observe AOM when conducting an approach to a runway with a notified Instrument Approach Procedure (IAP).

2.2 On 5 October 2012 the European Commission published Commission Regulation No. 965/2012 (EASA Air Operations Regulation). This regulation lays down the technical requirements and administrative procedures related to air operations pursuant to Regulation (EC) No. 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

EASA Air Operations Regulation (EASA Ops) and associated Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material are available at:

http://easa.europa.eu/regulations.

2.3 All flight operations by aircraft within theRiga FIR are to operate with AOM no lower than calculated using EASA Ops. This is the same method as used to calculate minima published on commercially available flight guides.

2.4 It should be noted that the privileges of pilot licenses, Rules of the Air and limitations in the aircraft Flight Manual can be more restrictive than the AOM contained in this section. In establishing the AOM that will apply, full account must be taken of:

a) the type and handling characteristics of the aircraft;

b) the composition of the flight crew and their competence and experience;

c) the dimensions and characteristics of the runway which may be selected for use;

d) the adequacy and performance of the available visual and non-visual ground aids;

e) the equipment available on the aircraft for the purpose of navigation and/or control of the flight path, as appropriate, during the take-off, the approach, the flare, the landing, roll-out and missed approach;

f) the obstacles in the approach, and missed approach and climb-out areas required for the execution of contingency procedures and necessary clearance;

g) the obstacle clearance altitude/height for the instrument approach procedures; and

h) the means to determine and report meteorological conditions.

3. Commercial Air Transport Operations

3.1 For commercial air transport operators, the method of calculating AOM should be in accordance with the most restrictive of their company operations manual or EASA Ops unless more restrictive minima are notified in respect of a particular aerodrome.

4. Aerial Work and Private Aircraft

4.1 For Aerial Work and private aircraft operations the AOM shall be no lower than published in EASA Ops unless more restrictive minima are notified in respect of a particular aerodrome.

4.2 The take-off minima selected for all flights by single-engine aeroplanes should be adequate to ensure a high probability of a successful forced landing being made should a failure of the engine occur after take-off.

5. Altimeter Error

5.1 When calculating Decision Height (DH), account must be taken of the errors of indicated height which occur when the aircraft is in the approach configuration. Details of the Pressure Error Correction (PEC) should be available from the aircraft Flight Manual or handbook. In the absence of this information a PEC of +50 FT has been found to be suitable for a wide range of light aircraft and should be used. This addition of 50 FT need only be applied to DH. The required RVR should be calculated prior to applying the PEC.

5.2 The use of a radio altimeter is only applicable to approved Category 2 and Category 3 operations. For an aircraft flying a Category 1 or non-precision IAP, DH/Minimum Descent Height (MDH) is indicated on the pressure altimeter. At DH/MDH any readings from a radio altimeter may be unreliable because of the large area of terrain providing return signals to the instrument.

5.3 Temperature Error. Pressure altimeters are calibrated to indicate true altitude under International Standard Atmosphere (ISA) conditions. Any deviation from ISA will therefore result in an erroneous reading on the altimeter. The altimeter will over-read for temperatures below ISA and the following table details the values to correct this error.

Aerodrome	Altitude Above Altimeter Source Elevation (FT) (normally destination elevation)
Temp °C	200	300	400	500	600	700	800	900	1000	1500	2000	3000	4000	5000
0°	20	20	30	30	40	40	50	50	60	90	120	170	230	280
10°	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100	150	200	290	390	490
20°	30	50	60	70	90	100	120	130	140	210	280	420	570	710
30°	40	60	80	100	120	140	150	170	190	280	380	570	760	950
40°	50	80	100	120	150	170	190	220	240	360	480	720	970	1210
50°	60	90	120	150	180	210	240	270	300	450	590	890	1190	1500
Values to be added to published altitudes (FT)

When a paved runway or portion thereof is slippery wet, the aerodrome operator makes such information available by originating a NOTAM and describes the location of the affected portion.

When the runway is wet, not associated with the presence of standing water, snow, slush, ice or frost, the assessed information is disseminated using the The Runway Condition Report (RCR) through the air traffic service.

Friction measurements are not reported.