**1.** Each Contracting Party may request consultations at any time concerning safety standards in any area relating to aircrews, aircraft or their operation adopted by the other Contracting Party. Such consultations shall take place within 30 days of that request.
**2.** If, following such consultations, one Contracting Party finds that the other Contracting Party does not effectively maintain and administer safety standards in any such area that are at least equal to the minimum standards established at that time pursuant to the Chicago Convention, the first Contracting Party shall notify the other Contracting Party of those findings and the steps considered necessary to conform with those minimum standards, and the other Contracting Party shall take appropriate corrective action. Failure by the other Contracting Party to take appropriate action within 15 days or such longer period as may be agreed, shall be grounds for the application of Article 5 (1) of this Agreement (revocation or suspension of operating authorisations).
**3.** Notwithstanding the obligations mentioned in Article 33 of the Chicago Convention it is agreed that any aircraft operated by or, under a lease arrangement, on behalf of the airline or airlines of one Contracting Party on services to or from the territory of the other Contracting Party may, while within the territory of the other Contracting Party, be made the subject of an examination by the authorised representatives of the other Contracting Party, on board and around the aircraft to check both the validity of the aircraft documents and those of its crew and the apparent condition of the aircraft and its equipment (in this Article called ‘‘ramp inspection’’), provided this does not lead to unreasonable delay.
**4.** If any such ramp inspection or series of ramp inspections gives rise to:
serious concerns that an aircraft or the operation of an aircraft does not comply with the minimum standards established at that time pursuant to the Chicago Convention; or
serious concerns that there is a lack of effective maintenance and administration of safety standards established at that time pursuant to the Chicago Convention;
the Contracting Party carrying out the inspection shall, for the purposes of Article 33 of the Chicago Convention, be free to conclude that the requirements under which the certificate or licences in respect of that aircraft or in respect of the crew of that aircraft had been issued or rendered valid or that the requirements under which that aircraft is operated are not equal to or above the minimum standards established pursuant to the Chicago Convention.
**5.** In the event that access for the purpose of undertaking a ramp inspection of an aircraft operated by the airline or airlines of one Contracting Party in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article is denied by a representative of that airline or airlines, the other Contracting Party shall be free to infer that serious concerns of the type referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article arise and draw the conclusions referred in that paragraph.
**6.** Each Contracting Party reserves the right to suspend or vary the operating authorisation of an airline or airlines of the other Contracting Party immediately in the event the first Contracting Party concludes, whether as a result of a ramp inspection, a series of ramp inspections, a denial of access for ramp inspection, consultation or otherwise, that immediate action is essential to the safety of an airline operation.
**7.** Any action by one Contracting Party in accordance with paragraphs 2 or 6 of this Article shall be discontinued once the basis for the taking of that action ceases to exist.
Artikel 10
Safety
Deze tekst geldt sinds 1 mei 2008