We spoke with the Director General of the DGAC about the new Civil Aviation Law of Ecuador with focus on opening of skies, cabotage, procedures in 4 months and airports.
Ecuador prepares the approval of a new aeronautical legal framework designed to replace an obsolete code that dates back to 2007. In an extensive interview with the general director of Civil Aviation, Juan Pablo Franco, The reasons for this project were analyzed in depth, the technical impact of international audit, the opening to cabotage in the continental territory, the drastic reduction in certification times for new airlines and the new schemes to reactivate the country's airport infrastructure.
The origin of the new law: respond to ICAO and update aviation
The development of this law gained direct momentum from the current administration that took office in August 2024. After the unsatisfactory results of the audit carried out by the International Civil Aviation Organization (OACI) on 2023, The aeronautical authority assumed the technical direction of the text in coordination with the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works, displacing any political focus to prioritize operational safety.
I share the full interview with you, you can hear it directly here:
The urgency of renewing the law responds both to the regulatory delay of two decades and to the emergence of new technologies.. On 2007 aviation did not contemplate the commercial use of RPAS or drones, while currently the OACI formally classifies them as aircraft, at the same level as an airplane or helicopter. The proposal seeks to provide a clear and agile legal framework to these operators without bureaucratizing their work..
«This is a law that must comply with the standards and requirements demanded by the International Civil Aviation Organization. We are a country subscribed to the Chicago Convention of 1944 and we must comply fully, something we have not been doing given that our legislation dates back to 2007.”
continental cabotage, Reciprocity and protection of technical employment
The most transformative axis of the proposal lies in the creation of an attractive commercial environment for the entry of international operators, closing the legal loopholes left by previous resolutions of the National Civil Aviation Council and the Protected Areas Law.
«Cabotage will apply only to continental Ecuador. Galapagos is a particular issue where the Foreign Ministry is very involved. Nevertheless, to protect local employment, In the regulations we will analyze that the operation to the island region requires an Ecuadorian crew, guaranteeing the jobs of our technicians."
Once the standard is promulgated, Ecuador plans to immediately sign bilateral cooperation agreements under the principle of strict reciprocity. Countries like Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia They have already shown a formal interest and are waiting for the legal framework to finalize the agreements.. This will allow foreign airlines to carry out domestic flights between Ecuadorian cities under equal competitive conditions..
In the operational and labor aspect, The norm eliminates historical barriers that the authority qualifies as discriminatory against the Constitution of 2008. The law of 2007 required that commercial companies be constituted exclusively with Ecuadorian capital and personnel to carry out aerial work or national transportation. With the new wording, International airlines will have the flexibility to operate internal routes with Ecuadorian or foreign crews, expeditiously homologating the Air Operator Certificates (AOC) issued by authorities of member countries of the OACI.
To mitigate the doubts of the local technical sector, the DGAC clarified that the liberation of cabotage will not apply in any way to the island region. Galapagos will remain under a special regime coordinated with the Foreign Ministry, and the regulations of the law will establish safeguards to require percentages of Ecuadorian technical personnel on flights to the islands, thus protecting existing jobs in the country.
«Our current legislation is discriminatory because it only allows Ecuadorian companies and with Ecuadorian personnel to carry out work within the country., which contravenes the Constitution. If Europe has managed to make its skies unique, It sounds absurd that South America cannot achieve it. Aviation takes care of a country's economy."
Airline certification in four months and operational facilities
One of the main bottlenecks of the Ecuadorian aeronautical system has been the slowness in the certification procedures, a factor that in the past discouraged the entry of operators such as Sky Airline. The new law simplifies the general principles in the legal text and transfers flexibility to the regulations and technical regulations (RDAC), allowing changes to be made directly through the standards committee without waiting for legislative reforms.
Under this new ecosystem, The DGAC projects that the process for a foreign airline to obtain its permit and begin flying regularly will only take between three and four months.. The viability of these deadlines was recently demonstrated with the certification of the new state operator LATAM Cargo Ecuador, a process that was completed in just four months under the most rigorous operational safety standards.
«We already have a precedent: we have just certified the first cargo airline, LATAM Cargo Ecuador, in just four months. We comply with absolutely all technical regulations without any observation from the Comptroller's Office. "That is the pace we want to maintain with new airlines seeking to operate in the country."
Regarding technical maintenance, The operational scheme will allow foreign aircraft to enter the country, fulfill their domestic itineraries and leave without the rigid obligation to establish fixed local maintenance bases, relying on Approved Maintenance Organizations (Their) already certified in Ecuador if they require it.
Protection and rights of users
Regarding the passenger defense, The law maintains the rights already enshrined in current regulations, remembering that the competent bodies for consumer protection are the Ombudsman's Office and the Elderly Law. The DGAC acts as a technical support body in this type of processes..
«In the User Guide we are going to review the resolution to put it a little more in favor of users, because really, both users and airlines must have exactly equal rights and obligations.. Technical regulations allow us to be more flexible and update these issues without waiting for others 20 years."
Nevertheless, The authority announced that in parallel it is working on an update of the resolution of the User Guide to equate the rights of passengers with the airline obligations. Although the international or regional trend on issues such as hand luggage is still under technical debate, In Ecuador these aspects will be regulated in a more agile manner through resolutions and specific technical regulations., avoiding the rigidity of modifying them at the organic law level.
New models to boost the state airport network
Current law limits development options for state airport infrastructure to direct delegation only.. The new project diversifies management models to rescue terminals that currently operate below their capacity or do not register regular commercial flights.
Among the alternatives proposed include the constitution of mixed economy companies - where the State maintains the majority shareholding together with private investment - and the creation of a public company dedicated to airport administration.. This last figure will allow you to directly capture the fees and resources collected by the DGAC to reinvest them in the specific infrastructure and equipment needs of each airport in the country..
After the approval of the law in the National Assembly and its subsequent executive sanction, The aeronautical authority will have a period of six months to draft the general regulations.
To guarantee a text aligned with global standards and adapted to the dynamics of the current market, The DGAC has already structured two technical support missions with CAF specialists (Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean) and of one's own OACI, who will work together with the Ecuadorian team in the development of secondary regulations.
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