Staff Instruction (SI) No. 501-001

Annual Airworthiness Information Report (AAIR)

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Issuing Office: Standards    
Activity Area: Qualifying Document No.: SI 501-001
File No.: 5009-32-2 Issue No.: 03
RDIMS No.: 4729357-V4 Effective Date: 2009-05-18


1.1  Purpose

The purpose of this Staff Instruction (SI) is to outline the responsibilities and provide instructions and procedures for the administration of the Annual Airworthiness Information Report (AAIR).

1.2  Applicability

This document applies to Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) personnel, and the aviation industry.

1.3  Description of Changes

This document, formerly Staff Instruction (SI) 501-001 Issue 02 has been reissued as SI 501-001 Issue 03. With the exception of minor editorial changes and updated references, the content is unaltered.


2.1  Reference Documents


  1. Part V Subpart 01 of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs)—Annual Airworthiness Information Report;
  2. Standard 501 of the Airworthiness Manual (AWM)—Annual Airworthiness Information Report; and
  3. Transport Canada form number 24-0059—Annual Airworthiness Information Report.

2.2  Cancelled Documents

Not applicable.


  1. The AAIR was introduced in April 1989 as a method of collecting essential airworthiness data required by TCCA, Statistics Canada and the Transportation Safety Board (TSB). The data is used to ensure accurate and thorough distribution of airworthiness information to aircraft owners, monitor the activity of the Canadian aircraft fleet, calculate accident and incident statistics, and to facilitate planning and performance measurement of the National Air Transportation System.
  2. Pursuant to Subpart 501 of the CARs, and Standard 501 of the AWM, the owner of every Canadian registered aircraft, other than an ultra-light aeroplane, is required to submit to TCCA a completed AAIR no later than a specified due date. Through the AAIR the owner provides current details of the aircraft configuration, inspection, damage and repairs and the number of hours flown.
  3. In 2005 the supporting mainframe-based Continuing Airworthiness Information System (CAIS) application was replaced by the web-based Continuing Airworthiness Web Information System (CAWIS) application. The major benefits of this change were:

    1. to facilitate submission of the AAIR through the Internet by aircraft owners; and
    2. to facilitate AAIR administration and data entry through the TCCA Intranet by TCCA personnel.
  4. Details of the AAIR form are contained in Appendix A of Standard 501.


4.1  Normal AAIR Process

  1. A personalized AAIR form is mailed to each owner approximately five to six weeks in advance of the due date, which is normally the anniversary of the day on which the aircraft’s flight authority was issued. The form is generated by the CAWIS system in Ottawa and is pre-printed with airworthiness data currently recorded in the CAWIS database.
  2. The aircraft owner must provide new and corrected information about the aircraft and submit it in an AAIR, not later than the due date, using one of two means, either:

    1. by filling in the paper form, referred to as a “paper AAIR” and mailing it to the appropriate TCCA regional office; or
    2. by accessing and filling in an equivalent AAIR form on the TCCA CAWIS website and submitting it electronically, referred to as a “web AAIR”. A unique Client ID, printed on the paper form sent by TCCA, serves as a password for the owner to access the appropriate aircraft data. CAWIS provides to the owner an on-line electronic acknowledgement of his AAIR submission.
  3. The TCCA regional office processes the returned paper AAIRs by entering the new and updated data in CAWIS. Data submitted through web AAIRs are stored directly into CAWIS; several reports allow the regions to monitor and correct, if necessary, the data coming in by this means.

4.2  Alternate Reporting Date

With mutual agreement between TCCA and the owner, a date other than the anniversary of the date of issuance of the flight authority may be established as the due date for the AAIR.

4.3  Consolidated Fleet Reports

Upon approval by TCCA, the owner of two or more aircraft may submit a single consolidated fleet report for some or all of their aircraft in lieu of submitting individual reports for each aircraft. Such fleet reports are submitted in a TCCA approved form and manner and do not use the AAIR form.

4.4  Out-of-Service Aircraft

An AAIR is not required for the calendar year of 1 January to 31 December during which an aircraft is out of service. To claim this non-reporting privilege the owner must use the tick-off box on the AAIR form to indicate that the aircraft will be out-of-service for all of the current calendar year and provide an estimated date for the aircraft’s return to service (ERTS) date. The mailout of forms from CAWIS is then suppressed until the due date in the year following the ERTS date.

4.5  Role and Function of CAWIS

The CAWIS is the cornerstone for successful operation of the AAIR program. When fully understood and properly used, CAWIS performs and manages a major portion of the administration associated with the AAIR process, much of it automatically. Detailed instructions are found in the CAWIS User Guide, which is accessible through the on-line Help button.


The Director, National Aircraft Certification is responsible for the direction of the AAIR program in HQ. Management of the program is delegated to the Chief, Continuing Airworthiness Division, whose roles and responsibilities includes the following:

  1. Ensure the timely generation and mailout of AAIR forms to individual aircraft owners, by:

    1. monitoring the weekly output of forms from CAWIS;
    2. producing tracking reports of owners receiving AAIR forms;
    3. overseeing the mail out of AAIR forms by the central TCCA services; and
    4. providing blank AAIR forms to the HQ data center and the regions.
  2. Manage the maintenance and operation of the AAIR sub-system in CAWIS, by:

    1. developing any required program fixes and enhancements; and
    2. performing quality control checks on regional input of AAIR data.
  3. Provide assistance, advice and direction to the regions, by:

    1. maintaining staff instructions;
    2. providing CAWIS user help, instructions and training; and
    3. assisting with the resolution of unique situations respecting individual owners.
  4. Facilitate the extraction and transfer of AAIR data to authorized government agencies within and exterior to TCCA as requested.
  5. Sponsor the maintenance of Subpart 501 of the CARs.
  6. Educate the aviation community about the AAIR program to promote compliance.
  7. Maintain national records pertaining to the generation and mailout of individual AAIR forms.


The Regional Director Civil Aviation shall be responsible for ensuring the operation of the AAIR program with respect to the aircraft registered in his region, and shall:

  1. establish procedures for the day-to-day execution of the AAIR program within the requirements of Subpart 501 of the CARs, and the specific instructions of sections 7.0 to 14.0 of this SI.
  2. assign the regional AAIR tasks to appropriate units or personnel and inform National Aircraft Certification of this assignment.
  3. designate an individual or position to be a single point of contact with National Aircraft Certification on AAIR matters. In the organization, the AAIR activity is generally assigned to the regional maintenance and manufacturing personnel to carry out under the direction of the Director, National Aircraft Certification.


The following are the responsibilities of the Regional Director Civil Aviation and his AAIR-assigned personnel, henceforth collectively referred to as "the region".

7.1  General Responsibilities

The following are general responsibilities:

  1. Maintain the quality and completeness of all CAWIS 5008 file data submitted via individual paper or web AAIRs, or by consolidated fleet reports, by:

    1. ensuring that all personnel tasked with entering AAIR data are adequately trained and supervised; and
    2. ensuring that no flying hours data are lost due to untimely changes of ownership, new registrations, assigning of alternate due dates, or transfer of aircraft in or out of fleet files. Flying hours data must be collected for every reporting period (calendar year) in which an aircraft is operated. It may be necessary in some special circumstances to request submission of an unscheduled AAIR to avoid failure in reporting an aircraft’s flying hours data.
  2. Monitor the weekly mailout of all AAIRs to regional owners (tracking reports provide this information).
  3. Investigate reported changes to aircraft, engine and propeller make, model and weight data, by:

    1. having technical personnel, for example a principal maintenance inspector, review such reported changes to authenticate their legitimacy in accordance with approved documentation, such as a Type Certificate Data Sheet or a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC); and
    2. recording legitimate changes in the CAWIS 5008 file.
  4. Record and monitor out-of-service aircraft, by:

    1. entering the out-of-service status and ERTS date in the CAWIS 5008 file; and
    2. monitoring the return-to-service of these aircraft, and re-initiating the mailout of AAIR forms by CAWIS.
  5. Approve and record alternate due dates, by:

    1. establishing procedures for the method of application and approval for the use of an alternate due date;
    2. receiving and approving applications by owners for alternate reporting dates; and
    3. recording such alternate reporting dates in the CAWIS 5008 file.
  6. Administer fleet reports, by:

    1. establishing procedures for the method of application and approval for the use of the fleet reporting option;
    2. receiving and approving applications for fleet reporting, including a form and manner of reporting which provides, for each aircraft in the fleet, all of the information which would normally be provided through individual AAIRs;
    3. establishing and maintaining numbered fleet files in CAWIS;
    4. monitoring and ensuring receipt of annual fleet reports (no AAIR forms or reminder notices are sent to the operator from National Aircraft Certification);
    5. entering all data in the appropriate fleet file and CAWIS 5008 file of each fleet aircraft; and
    6. forwarding sufficient copies of fleet reports to Records Management for filing in the RDIMS 5008 or other applicable files.
  7. Maintain records of AAIR operations, by:

    1. filing, for a minimum of one year, AAIR audit reports generated from CAWIS; and
    2. establishing and maintaining files necessary to administer alternate reporting dates, fleet reporting and out-of-service aircraft.
  8. Respond to individual owner problems, by:

    1. supplying replacement forms when lost, misplaced, misdirected or not generated by CAWIS;
    2. answering day-to-day owner queries concerning the AAIR requirements, process, missing forms, etc; and
    3. consulting with National Aircraft Certification where necessary.
  9. Establish and, when appropriate, implement procedures for the regulatory enforcement of the reporting requirements of Subpart 501 of the CARs. CAWIS offers an "AAIR Overdue" report, which lists all aircraft for which AAIRs have not been received.

7.2  Paper AAIRs

  1. Undertake the timely processing of routine paper AAIRs, by:

    1. recording the date that incoming reports are received;
    2. verifying that reports are complete as required by Standard 501;
    3. once any reported technical changes in the aircraft, engine, propeller or weight information are authenticated per 7.1(c)(i) of this SI, entering all data in the appropriate CAWIS 5008 files; and
    4. ensuring that the completed AAIR is filed in the appropriate RDIMS or paper 5008 file.
  2. Follow-up incomplete reports, by:

    1. returning incomplete reports to owners; and
    2. verifying the re-submission of completed reports and entering the missing data in CAWIS.

7.3  Web AAIRs

  1. Monitor and ensure the quality and timeliness of incoming web AAIRs, by:

    1. reviewing the system generated Web AAIR Summary and Comprehensive reports (see 9.0 of this SI);
    2. investigating and authenticating the legitimacy of any reported changes to aircraft, engine and propeller make, model and weight data per 7.1(c)(i) of this SI; and
    3. restoring any CAWIS 5008 files damaged by incorrect data entry if necessary.
  2. Investigate and respond to queries posed in the Owner Notes portion of the web AAIR (included in Comprehensive Web AAIR report).


While submission of an AAIR is now possible via the Internet, submission of reports using the paper forms will likely continue into the foreseeable future. These paper AAIRs must be processed in much the same manner as they were for the former CAIS system.

8.1  Verification of Report Completeness

The following are for verification of report completeness:

  1. Cross-check the basic identity of the aircraft and owner by comparing the AAIR data with the current CAWIS 5008 file and by noting any changes made by the owner in the following items:

    1. aircraft registration mark;
    2. aircraft base and TCCA region;
    3. aircraft, engine and propeller make, model and serial number; and
    4. owner name, address, phone and fax numbers (if supplied).
  2. Changes in owner information should be forwarded to the regional General Aviation, Aircraft Registration and Leasing office, for update of Canadian Civil Aircraft Register System (CCARS).
  3. Check that the reportable data specified in subsection 501.02(1) of Standard 501 has been supplied. While the CARs requires the submission of all the information specified in subsection 501.02(1) of the Standard, the region may exercise some discretion in accepting reports, which are missing some of the non-critical information. Of particular importance are:

    1. total hours flown since new;
    2. hours flown last calendar year;
    3. date of the most recent annual or 100-hour inspection, if applicable; and
    4. signature of owner.
  4. The reporting of certain data is optional and not required by Subpart 501 of the CARs, namely:

    1. specialty hours—for air operators and flight training units;
    2. emergency fax number—assists with emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) distribution; and
    3. aircraft out-of-service—for convenience of owners who wish to have the AAIR reporting requirement temporarily ‘switched off’.
  5. Note any comments made by the owner and action as appropriate.

8.2  Recording Routine Paper AAIRs in CAWIS

  1. Once a paper AAIR has been accepted as ‘complete’ (see 8.1 of this SI), the following data should promptly be entered into CAWIS using either the AAIR Entry mode or Modify 5008 File mode for the appropriate aircraft:

    1. Date the AAIR was received;
    2. Date of most recent inspection;
    3. Name and number (if applicable) of inspecting Approved Maintenance Organization (AMO), Approved Maintenance Engineer (AME) or owner;
    4. Time since new;
    5. Hours flown last calendar year (total) and, if provided, hours flown in training and other aerial work (optional);
    6. Check box if aircraft was damaged since last report and, if so, date of damage, and/or repair certification; and
    7. If provided, emergency AD fax number (optional). Diligent maintenance of the emergency fax number will greatly assist emergency AD distribution, particularly to commercial operators.
  2. In respect of flying time:

    1. Enter flying times to the nearest whole hour (no decimals); and
    2. Enter zero (0) hours if the owner reports the aircraft did not fly during the previous calendar year. It is incorrect (and misleading) to leave the field blank to indicate a zero value.

8.3  Recording Non-Routine Paper AAIRs in CAWIS

Recording Non-Routine Paper AAIRs in CAWIS:

  1. when an AAIR provides other data that needs to be changed or added to CAWIS (e.g. a different engine serial number, aircraft weight or base of operation), first enter the basic data listed in 8.2 of this SI;
  2. subject to technical verification of the legitimacy of reported changes to the aircraft (see 7.1(c)(i) of this SI), e.g. a different engine or propeller model, or a new weight, enter these other data into the 5008 file; and
  3. note that make, model and type certificate data for aircraft, engines and propellers must conform to the terminology in the CAWIS Standardization Tables, and every effort must be made to ensure the validity of the 5008 files through research into the tables. Additionally, care must be taken to not overwrite correct data just because the owner uses terminology that does not conform to CAWIS standards. However, in the event that the owner reports a new engine or propeller, which is verified to be a legitimate installation but which is not on the CAWIS tables, or where no equivalent or acceptable equivalent is found, the new make and/or model can be entered under the ‘Other’ heading. This will flag National Aircraft Certification to review and add the product to the tables.


The following is for monitoring Web AAIRs:

  1. Provided the owner enters all required AAIR data in an acceptable manner, the web AAIR will be accepted by CAWIS and the 5008 file will be updated automatically with the new data, including the date when it was submitted. In most cases no action will be required on the part of the regions. The system will not accept an incomplete web AAIR.


    Because the hours flown are reported for a given calendar year, CAWIS opens the ‘reporting window’ and permits a web AAIR to be submitted anytime after December 31 of the reporting period, even if TCCA has not yet mailed an AAIR form to the owner. Status of the reporting window is indicated in the 5008 file by a Report Due checkmark, which is also presented to the owner when accessing his CAWIS AAIR file. Early submission of an AAIR will suppress the mailout of a blank form at the normal five to six weeks prior to the next due date, but it will not alter the official due date for the aircraft.
  2. Nonetheless, compliance with Subpart 501 of the CARs must be monitored by regular review of the three AAIR audit reports that are available via the CAWIS AAIR menu:

    1. AAIR Tracking Report—list of aircraft and owners to whom AAIR forms sent; includes due date, last received date, special AAIRs and fleet report notices; updated at each weekly AAIR mail out.
    2. Web AAIR Summary Report—list of web AAIRs received; includes hours flown last year, last inspection date and Yes/No indication whether owner changed any tombstone data, whether aircraft was reported out of service or whether owner included any comments; updated daily; accumulated for one calendar year.
    3. Web AAIR Comprehensive Report—list of web AAIRs received; includes compressed list of all new data submitted and any From/To changes in the tombstone data; updated daily; accumulated for one calendar year.
  3. Regular review of these reports will indicate if the owner has reported any changes to aircraft configuration, weight, operating location or other detail that might require investigation or other action by the region. Note that it is possible that the owner may have changed some aircraft data incorrectly, requiring correction of the CAWIS 5008 file.
  4. Initial and periodic sampling of incoming web AAIRs should indicate the extent to which these reports and the AAIRs submitted via the web will have to be monitored.


  1. When an alternate due date is approved (see 7.1(e) of this SI), record this in CAWIS using either the Alternate Due Date pop-up window from the AAIR menu or the Modify 5008 File mode:

    1. check the alternate due date box; and
    2. enter the new alternate due date (month and day only).
  2. To re-set the reporting date back to the default (anniversary of the date of issue of the flight authority):

    1. uncheck the alternate due date box; and
    2. delete the alternate due date.
  3. Whenever an aircraft is re-registered to a new owner, any alternate due date will be automatically removed and the due date re-set to the default date by CAWIS.


11.1  Establishing and Maintaining Fleet File

When an operator is granted permission to submit the AAIR data for his aircraft via a fleet report (see 7.1(f) of this SI), establish and maintain a fleet file in CAWIS as follows:

  1. Assign a 4-digit number to the fleet in the following ranges according to region:

    1. 1001 – 1999 Pacific Region;
    2. 2001 – 3999 Prairie and Northern Region;
    3. 4001 – 4999 Ontario Region;
    4. 5001 – 5999 Quebec Region; and
    5. 6001 – 6999 Atlantic Region.
  2. Add a fleet file to CAWIS, using the new pop-up window from the Fleet AAIR menu. Enter the following:

    1. Fleet number;
    2. TCCA administrative (file) region;
    3. Name, address and other contact information of operator (normally the same as registered owner of the individual aircraft in the fleet);
    4. A due date for the fleet report (month and day only—CAWIS will default to January 31 if not otherwise specified); and
    5. 4-character registration marks of all aircraft assigned to the fleet. The Import function will present a list of all aircraft registered to the owner identified in the fleet name; select the desired ones (enter in any order—CAWIS will sort alphabetically).
  3. With the addition of a fleet file, CAWIS will modify the 5008 file of each aircraft in the fleet to include:

    1. Fleet number; and
    2. Fleet report due date (overwrites normal Certificate of Airworthiness anniversary date).
  4. To add another aircraft to the fleet at a later date, import the new aircraft using the Fleet File-Modify pop-up window; CAWIS will modify the appropriate 5008 file by inserting the fleet number, and by modifying the AAIR due date to be that of the fleet. Alternatively, add the fleet number to the 5008 file of the required aircraft; CAWIS will add the new registration mark to the fleet file and modify the due date on the 5008 file when saved.
  5. Similarly, to remove an aircraft from a fleet, remove the registration mark from the fleet file; CAWIS will modify the appropriate 5008 file by removing the fleet number and by restoring the AAIR due date to the flight authority anniversary date. Alternatively, remove the fleet number from the 5008 file; CAWIS will remove the aircraft from the fleet file and restore the normal due date to the 5008 file when saved. CAWIS also removes from the fleet file any aircraft that is re-registered to a new owner.
  6. On a nightly basis, CAWIS automatically adds to the appropriate fleet file any new aircraft that is registered or re-registered to the same owner who is currently identified as a fleet reporter. Similarly, CAWIS automatically removes from a fleet file any aircraft that is de-registered or that cease to be registered to the fleet reporter. These auto fleet file maintenance features will often make the manual actions of (d) and (e) unnecessary.
  7. To delete an entire fleet, use the Delete function in the Fleet Administration window and confirm your intentions. CAWIS will remove the fleet file from the database and reset all affected 5008 files by removing the fleet number and restoring the normal due dates. Note that the fleet number will be protected against future re-use.

11.2  Operation and Data Entry

  1. CAWIS does not produce an AAIR form for aircraft listed in a fleet file and no reminder of impending due date is sent from HQ. However, CAWIS does produce a First Notice Report for the fleet as part of the AAIR Tracking Report, five to six weeks before the due date. The region could use this report as part of a reminder to the operator.
  2. To enter data provided on a consolidated fleet report:

    1. Verify that the fleet report is complete and provides all of the information that would normally be provided on individual AAIRs (see 8.1 of this SI);
    2. In the same manner followed for individual AAIRs, verify the technical legitimacy of any reported changes in the aircraft, engine, propeller or weight data for any aircraft in the fleet (see sections 7.0 and 8.0 of this SI);
    3. Using the Fleet File-Modify pop-up window from the AAIR menu, on the appropriate fleet file enter the date the fleet report was received—this date will be copied automatically to each aircraft in the fleet; and
    4. Following verification of any reported change in tombstone data per 11.2(b), enter the required new and revised AAIR data in the 5008 file of each aircraft, in accordance with the detailed instructions given in sections 7.0 and 8.0 of this SI for individual AAIR processing.


12.1  Out of Service Signalled by Paper AAIR

  1. The following apply to out of service signalled by paper AAIR:

    1. When an owner checks the aircraft out-of-service box on a paper AAIR form, before initiating the out-of-service mode in CAWIS the region must confirm that an ERTS date of next year or later has been provided, and either:

      1. a current AAIR has been submitted to report last year’s hours; or
      2. the aircraft was out-of-service for all of last year.
  2. The flow chart of Appendix A will assist with this evaluation.
  3. If the request is deemed to meet the criteria, record in CAWIS the following information, either directly in the 5008 file or in the pop-up window accessed via the Out-of-Service option on the AAIR menu:

    1. Check the out-of-service tick-off box;
    2. Enter the ERTS date (year and month only); and
    3. If the reason the aircraft is out of service is provided (optional), enter the reason code from one of the available choices.
  4. Mailout of the AAIR form will be suspended until the first due date of the year after the recorded ERTS date; CAWIS will automatically uncheck the out of service box and remove the ERTS date and reason at that time:

    1. Subpart 501 of the CARs does not require an owner to report that his aircraft is out of service—it is simply an optional feature which eliminates the need to submit reports showing nil hours flown.
    2. While the CARs stipulates that an aircraft has to be out of service for only one complete reporting period (calendar year) for the owner to exercise this privilege, because flying hours are reported in arrears for the previous calendar year, there is no real benefit to anyone in exercising the privilege for only one reporting period. In this situation owners should be encouraged to simply submit a normal AAIR, reporting that they have flown zero hours. The feature primarily benefits only those whose aircraft will be out of service for several reporting periods.
    3. The out-of-service privilege cannot be used simultaneously with an alternate reporting date or with fleet reporting.
    4. If the owner does not provide an ERTS date, no further action should be taken, except to record the LAST AAIR RECEIVED date and any other data that was provided.
    5. If the owner indicates that the aircraft will "never" return to service (e.g. because it is in a museum or has been destroyed) enter an ERTS date of five years from the current year’s AAIR due date. This will provide an occasional check or confirmation that the aircraft remains out of service.

12.2  Out-of-Service Signalled by Web AAIR

The following apply to out-of-service signalled by Web AAIR:

  1. When an owner checks the out-of-service box, provides the ERTS date and (optionally) a reason on a web AAIR, CAWIS automatically determines the acceptability of the request by evaluating the relevant dates (current date, due date, ERTS date) against the criteria specified in 12.1 of this SI and Appendix A.
  2. If the system determines that the request is acceptable, the 5008 file will be automatically revised accordingly.
  3. Mailout of the AAIR form will be suspended and subsequently recommenced in the same manner as described in 12.1(4) of this SI.

12.3  Returning an Aircraft to Service

  1. Return-to-service at Forecast ERTS Date—Unless the owner provides a revised ERTS date, an AAIR form will be sent to him prior to the normal report due date in the year following the ERTS date. The ERTS date and reason will be deleted automatically from the CAWIS 5008 file.
  2. Return-to-service Prior to Forecast ERTS date—When the owner notifies the region that the aircraft is being returned to service, enter the actual return-to-service date in the ERTS date field, either directly in the 5008 file or in the pop-up window accessed via the Out–of-Service option on the AAIR Menu, leaving the out-of-service box checked. An AAIR form will be sent to the owner and the 5008 file will be restored automatically prior to the next due date. An owner cannot use a web AAIR to record an early return to service.
  3. Extension of Out-of-Service Period—If the next AAIR submitted after a recorded out-of-service period indicates that the aircraft is still out of service, simply re-check the out-of-service box and enter the revised ERTS date and reason. Mailout of AAIR forms will continue to be suspended.


When an owner advises that his AAIR form is missing or has not been received, the region should review the CAWIS 5008 file and/or the weekly AAIR tracking reports to ensure that the related data and flags are properly set for the individual circumstances. A replacement form may be issued in one of two ways:

  1. Blank AAIR forms can be obtained from National Aircraft Certification for handout at Transport Canada Centres. The mailing address of the regional office should be inserted in the return address box before handout. Note that the report cannot be submitted as a Web AAIR unless the owner is provided with his AAIR Access Code, which is available from the CAWIS 5008 file.
  2. A personalized replacement AAIR form can be generated from CAWIS by specifying the mark and selecting the Special AAIR-Request option on the AAIR menu; this results in the following:

    1. An AAIR form will be printed (complete with the owner's AAIR Access Code) and mailed to the owner from National Aircraft Certification with the regular AAIR job on the following Wednesday; and
    2. Another form will be sent five to six weeks before the next regular due date.


The Enforcement Branch, usually in connection with regulatory action on other infractions, may also initiate AAIR enforcement action.


For more information, please contact the:
Manager, Policies and Procedures (AARTC)

Phone: 613-990-3923
Fax: 613-952-3298

Suggestions for amendment to this document are invited, and should be submitted via the Transport Canada Civil Aviation Issues Reporting System (CAIRS) at the following Internet address:

or by e-mail at:

D.B. Sherritt
Director, Standards
Civil Aviation


The following chart can be used in evaluating an owner's claim (on an in-coming paper AAIR form) for the non-reporting privilege due to an out-of-service aircraft. CAWIS automatically performs a similar evaluation when an owner submits a Web AAIR.

Out-of-Service Evaluation Criteria
Click on image to enlarge

Out-of-Service Evaluation Criteria
Click on image to enlarge

Information Note:

While Subpart 501 states that an AAIR is not required when an aircraft remains out of service for one or more reporting periods, because flying hours are always collected in arrears (i.e. for the previous calendar year) there is little benefit to either the owner or to TCCA in ‘turning off’ the AAIR reports in CAWIS unless the aircraft will be out of service for two or more reporting periods.

Date modified: