All carriers flying cargo into or through the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland require ACC3 certification.

ACC3 stands for “Air Cargo or Mail Carrier operating into the Union from a Third Country Airport”.

To gain ACC3, an airline must acquire EU Aviation Security Validation performed by an Independent Validator that has been accredited by an EU Member State.

To do this, outstations need to be validated separately by a certified EU Aviation Security Validator and a report prepared and sent to the appropriate authority for approval.

Once the ACC3 designation is formalized and has been registered in the EU database, the ACC3 status is granted for a period of 5 years.

ACC3 carriers must be re-validated every 5 years and Regulated Agents (RA3) and Known Consignors (KC3) are subject to re-validation every three years.

The validation services for the ACC3 contain an assessment of the Security Program Manual of the airline together with the Local Security Procedures of the ground handling agent.

After the assessment there will be an on-site verification, using the validation checklist specified in the EU regulation 1082/2012.

The validation report will be submitted to the appropriate authority within 30 days.

To learn more about ACC3 validation, click here.

For support with your flight operations to Europe, contact UAS