Regulation update: the CIME card becomes compulsory

Crew member identification card (CIME)

Since 1^st September 2023, this document has been compulsory to enter restricted-access security areas of airports (ZSAR and PCZSAR) without an escort. It is issued on a justified request from pilots after a security training course taken with an approved company (3 hours), ending with a final exam (a 30-minute written test in which at least 12/20 must be obtained) and an administrative inquiry. It is valid for three years.

The only bodies authorised to issue a CIME card are ENAC, the FFA, the GIPAG and the AOPA, as well as aerial work companies for their employees.

It is important to note that, at the airports identified:

- Restricted-access security areas may be established permanently or temporarily. They are activated according to commercial air transport activity at the airport;

- At most of these airports, the areas dedicated to general aviation (notably light aviation, business aviation, helicopters, aerial work…) are outside the PCZSAR perimeter. Access to these areas does not require a CMC (Crew Member Certificate), a CIME or a TCA (airport access pass), nor being escorted. Generally, the pilot licence or, for student pilots, a document proving training continue to be recognised and accepted.

If you plan to go to an airport concerned, it is still strongly recommended that you check whether PCZSAR access will be needed, depending on the nature and precise needs of the flight and the zoning at the airport at the time of the flight. If you do not hold a CIME card, you will not be able to move more than 5 metres away from your aircraft if it is parked in a security area.

Note that the bodies authorised to issue a CIME card can only do so for their own members. The FFPLUM has therefore negotiated an agreement with the AOPA, which grants a 50% discount on the AOPA membership fee to active FFPLUM members who need a CIME card.

Once the security certificate has been obtained, the card application must be made on the website https://www.aopa.fr/demande-de-carte-cime/

You will need to be an active member of both the FFPLUM and the AOPA throughout the three years of the card's validity.

APPENDIX

Airports where the whole airside is classified as PCZSAR. PCZSAR access will therefore be compulsory for the purposes of a flight:

Airports where a PCZSAR is activated or can be activated. General aviation activities are generally handled outside the PCZSAR but it is recommended that you check beforehand whether PCZSAR access is needed for the purposes of the flight:

Airports where the PCZSAR is activated only occasionally, so there is a low probability of needing PCZSAR access for the purposes of a flight: