Maybe it is time to ramp-up against EASA-land Ramp Checks and how they are applied;
We operate very few aeroplanes and helicopters only, but in France we have plenty of RAMP checks every year. Every ramp check is distracting the crew during their normal operation and takes time for the crew during the ramp check itself. Also thereafter a lot of time is spent for responses required from the back. Unfortunately for us it is just a waste of time and not justified by the finding results.
We noticed that up until now all findings with respect to all our aircrafts and helicopters are not safety related, but rather refer to minor discrepancies like non-ICAO-format of the NAA-issued AOC, like an MEL wording which is acceptable to our NAA but seem not to be acceptable for the DGAC inspector, or like small and purely cosmetic paint damage on a wing, etc., or the inspection reports mentioned mainly deferred MEL items such as a bulb which is u/s, or a technical log entry which is lacking an ATA-number, or other small deficiencies not related to our actual operation (for example lacking of some track miles to the declared alternate for fuel calculation on the OFP, while the aircraft is actually carrying fuel on board for several subsequent flights).
Being happy that we do not have to deal with safety-related deficiencies, we are annoyed at the same time that the ramp inspection program appears to be misused by some States. ARO.RAMP.100 (c)(1) states that the authorities should take „the number and nature of operators and their number of landings at its aerodromes, as well as safety risks“ into account. Having only a few aircrafts, and do only occasionally operate into different airports in a certain nation, it appears that the mentioned State does not respect the intent of ARO.RAMP.100 (c)(1) - unless the ramp checks performed up until now would have identified an inherent safety risk of our operation, which had not been communicated to us up until now. In such case we would appreciate to be informed immediately; we even assume that in such case immediate notice would be an obligation of the officials. Up to date however, never ever any safety risk was mentioned in any of the inspection reports.
We still believe that the EU Ramp Inspection Program within an international industry like the aviation industry can be an important factor to flight safety and standards, as long as it is applied reasonably and not misused. Therefore we strongly recommend EASA to ensure that this system is not turned into a job-generating system of self-gratification, unrelated to flight safety and with no avail to the industry, by certain member states. This is even in contradiction to the initial purpose of the regulation.