Tandem skydive operators in Tauranga and around New Zealand are grounded today as they grapple to become certified under new Civil Aviation Authority regulations.

Under part 115 of the civil aviation regulations, hot air balloon, hang glider, paraglider, tandem parachute, and parachute drop aircraft operators must be certificated by today.

'We have just got to work through it,” says Tauranga Tandem Skydive director John Martin.

Tauranga Tandem Skydive is temporarily closed while it obtains certification from the CAA.

John says it's a huge process and very hard for small operators to comply with.

'Now we are at the stage where we are part way through our application but CAA is that snowed under getting everyone processed, that they have simply run out of time and we have been chucked to the back of the list.

'We are steadily working through the process but we will be shut down in the short term while we get new systems in place.

'The big boys are going through at the moment and we have been bumped to the back of the list.”

The ‘big boys' include the world's largest tandem skydive operator, Nzone the Queenstown based tandem skydive operator that does about 200 drops a day.

They were not certificated this morning and business manager Derek Melnick says the company is in the process of getting it sorted out today.

He didn't know if that would be full certification or a temporary operator's licence.

By Monday afternoon only one adventure air operator was certificated, Tauranga Double X Aviation, which offers rides in a Yak 52 aircraft. Double X Aviation received its certificate in December.

'They are a classic example of an organisation that was already tip-top professional,” says CAA communications advisor Emma Peel.

'The certification wasn't an almighty hurdle for them because they were already there. They were good.”

Out of 23 adventure aviation operators who have submitted manuals there may be seven who will obtain certification.

'Clearly they haven't got themselves organised in time, and they will have a good winge about that, but CAA is totally unapologetic. There's been ample time and unlimited support.”

Emma says CAA has provided written guidance, sent a travelling road show round the country, sent out publications and brought in extra staff.

The operators were sent reminder letters in February, and Emma says the CAA has been talking with the Aviation Industry Association an industry umbrella organisation, making sure everyone in the industry knows about Part 115.

'We have done everything we can to help and we are continuing to help, we have had a team of guys who haven't had a weekend off in seven weeks.

'The CAA is not remotely defensive about everything it's done to help these operators and we will continue to try and get as many of them across the line as soon as we can.”

In November the operators were given six months to complete a process that involved writing a 400-page manual with no models and no information.

The manuals had to be submitted and processed at a cost of $135 an hour, plus a site visit. John says the processing costs alone make it economically questionable for many small operators.

'You have to write your own rule book, submit it, and they will tell you what's good and what's wrong with it, and when you submit it they start their stop watch and charge $135 an hour to process your paper work,” says John.

'It's very involved, very complex and at the same time we don't want to rock the boat, because we have still got to go down that road and get certified at some stage.”

Emma says the change is intended to give safety security to customers of New Zealand's growing adventure aviation sector, so overseas tourists who buy adventure aviation flights can be assured the operations are safe.

'When you are a passenger you don't expect there to be any risk when you buy a ticket,” says Emma.

'It is a perceived risk, like a rollercoaster feels scary, but you know that it's safe. That's the kind of premise on which this rule is written.”

From the CAA point of view it has to be done in the correct way. There are about 300 requirements if a company wants to get certification.

'If you want to charge, make money out of it, it has to be at this safety standard and Part 115 is no joke.

'This is a very high safety standard. You are formerly becoming part of the aviation system, and the aviation system is quite unique in that it is very risk focussed.

'So we look at not just what has gone wrong, but what could go wrong. Organisations are required to look at the safety of their own organisation, look at what could go wrong and what they will do to mitigate that risk.

'So it's a whole different intellectual exercise to a club where everyone there is accepting an element of risk and they understand that as members of the club.”

The CAA rule follows the Department of Labour position that a fare paying customer in the adventure aviation industry deserves the same safety standards expected from a small airline.

It was first suggested about 20 years ago, but has been vociferously opposed. As the adventure aviation industry has grown a lot more people are making money from skydiving, parapenting, microlighting and hang gliding.

Emma says until now they have operated in an almost free state and could not be audited by CAA because they did not have a certificate. It meant CAA could not close down an operator they had safety concerns about.

CAA has control over the pilots and can revoke a pilot licence revoke and a fixed wing aircraft's airworthiness certificate.

After a fatal balloon crash in Christchurch a few years ago, CAA was forced to ground the company's balloons to stop the company operating.

Operators were advised it would take 90 days to process the paper work.

'We know from experience that it does take time. People submit manuals that are really not up to standard and have to be redone. We know this from experience, but absolutely none of them did that on time.”