Consultation outcome

General Aviation: consultation on advance information requirements for international flights (accessible)

Updated 22 November 2023

This consultation begins on 24 April 2023

This consultation ends on 16 June 2023

About this consultation

To:

Persons responsible for piloting and operating General Aviation (GA) aircraft making international flights. This includes aircraft owners, pilots, commercial operators, trade and sector associations, airport and airfield operators, fixed base operators, the Civil Aviation Authority, the National Air Traffic Service and anyone with an interest in border security and international GA.

Duration:

From 24 April 2023 to 16 June 2023

Enquiries (including requests for the paper in an alternative format) to:

By email to: GeneralAviationConsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk

How to respond:

Please submit your response by 16 June 2023:

Online at https://www.homeofficesurveys.homeoffice.gov.uk/s/general-aviation-consultation/
Or by emailing: GeneralAviationConsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk

Or by post:

GA Consultation
Passenger Policy and Border Transformation Unit
2nd Floor, Peel
Home Office
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

Additional ways to respond:

A series of stakeholder meetings is also taking place. For further information please use the ‘Enquiries’ contact details above.

Response paper:

A response to this consultation exercise is due to be published by 21 July 2023 on gov.uk

Foreword by the Minister for Immigration

The safety and security of our citizens is the Government’s top priority and we are committed to having resilient border security processes in place for all modes of transport for counter-terrorism, crime and immigration purposes.

A key part of our border security strategy is having the ability to know who is travelling or intending to travel to the UK’s border before they arrive. Through the provision of advance passenger information (API), we can quickly determine who does and does not pose a threat to the UK or to UK interests and importantly, prevent them from travelling.

All airlines making scheduled commercial international flights to and from the United Kingdom (other than for some flights within the Common Travel Area) are required to provide API for all individuals on board. Additionally, all passengers arriving on scheduled international flights are subject to full passport control checks at the border.

Individuals arriving in the UK or leaving the UK on General Aviation (GA) flights are not subject to the same checks. Many arrive at, or depart from, private airfields and landing strips where there is no permanent border control or police presence, this means a requirement to provide API forms a key part of our approach to managing GA flights and individuals on board. Whilst individuals operating GA flights are currently required to provide data in advance of departure for customs purposes (and on some routes for security purposes), the information does not have to be submitted in a consistent format which enables law enforcement to process it efficiently.

We recognise the significant economic benefit the GA sector provides to the country and the majority of pilots and operators are making information available to the border authorities and the police about their flights and about the persons onboard. Requiring information specifically for immigration and policing in advance of travel and requiring the data to be provided online will have minimal impact on those pilots and operators already providing that information, but it will set a responsibility for those who do not currently support the GA community’s contribution to the security of the UK border.

This consultation sets out proposals for new regulations to require the submission of API, supported and simplified by an online process. The regulations will ensure this information is provided in a consistent format to support border checks and ensure that pilots and operators who do not comply may be penalised, whilst keeping the regulatory burden to a minimum.

Our API requirements for individuals arriving in private aircraft need to reflect and support our intention for a fully digitised border system which will in turn support the Government’s Future Border and Immigration System, giving us the ability to know and have greater control over who is travelling to, entering and leaving the UK.

I look forward to receiving your views.

Rt. Hon. Robert Jenrick MP

Minister for Immigration

Executive summary

We would like to consult on a proposal to introduce regulations that would require persons responsible for international General Aviation (GA) flights to submit information online and in advance about flights and persons on board and penalise failures to comply.

We are keen to receive views from the GA sector and from other interested parties on the proposals, including how they may be operated and take account of emergency situations.

Whilst this proposal relates to immigration, which is a reserved matter, we recognise that the proposed regulation could impact on devolved matters in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, such as policing, tourism and economic development, and we are therefore keen to get the views of the Devolved Administrations.

Although at present we are considering proposals to introduce regulations, new HMRC Commissioners’ Directions (CDs) could achieve the same effect. If that course is adopted, then responses to this consultation will be shared with HMRC. Accordingly, throughout this document any references to regulations may be taken to mean references to new CDs.

We would also like to hear views on alternatives, including alternative regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to securing the border and managing the vulnerabilities around GA.

For the purpose of this consultation GA means any aircraft whether operated commercially or privately, not operating to a specific and published schedule, not subject of a written requirement to provide advance information to an immigration officer or police officer, and not making a military flight other than those carrying non-military personnel.

Introduction

The unscheduled nature of GA and the high number of locations across and around the UK that flights can arrive into present significant challenges to border security and law enforcement. Criminals are known to use GA to facilitate illegal immigration, and to smuggle drugs and other prohibited goods into the UK.

October 2022: Border Force, using advance information from a General Aviation Report (GAR), identified an individual who was the subject of an Exclusion Order attempting to travel to the UK on a business GA flight. The operator was refused authority to carry the individual and his travel to the UK was prevented.

March 2022: Border Force identified an aircraft flying from Belgium which landed at an airfield in Northamptonshire. Four individuals were seen to disembark and get into a vehicle. They were found to be Albanian nationals entering the UK illegally. The pilot and the driver of the vehicle, together with a third man, were convicted of facilitating illegal migration, and will be sentenced in April.

February 2019: Border Force, using information from a GAR identified the subject of a United Nations Travel Ban attempting to travel to the UK on a private business jet. The operator was refused authority to carry the individual to the UK and he was not carried.

July 2018: Border Force identified a helicopter flight from Belgium. Although the pilot had submitted a GAR it was suspected that some of the information was false. The intelligence was passed to Kent Police who met the flight when it landed at Rochester. On board was a fugitive who had been on the run from the UK for 3 years. The individual subsequently pleaded guilty to be unlawfully at large and was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment to be served consecutively to the remainder of a nine year sentence.

January 2018: Border Force officers found 500kg of cocaine in suitcases on a private jet that arrived at Farnborough Airport from Colombia. Four individuals on board were convicted of importing class A drugs and imprisoned for between 20 and 24 years.

July 2017: Border Force and NCA conducted a joint operation with French authorities and prevented 4 Albanian nationals being carried in single engine aircraft from France and evading UK immigration control. Two British nationals, including the pilot, were detained and sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment in France.

Ordinarily there are approximately 124,000^{[footnote 1]} international GA flights in and out of the UK. These GA flights operate into over 3000 private and licensed airfields in the UK of which about 400 are in regular use. These airfields cannot be staffed routinely by a Border Force officer or police officer. This poses a significant challenge in securing complete physical coverage of the border and means that the processing of advance information about flights and the persons on board is of real importance.

In order to fully assess the risk posed by individuals arriving in private aircraft, authorities need to know who is intending to travel before they do so. The receipt of Advance Passenger Information (API), submitted online and in advance for all international flights, would allow Border Force and other law enforcement authorities to monitor and quantify the extent of the potential threat and level of risk. It would enhance watchlisting and intelligence-led analysis and improve the effectiveness with which resources are deployed to meet those flights. This information is processed to identify individuals who are of interest to law enforcement authorities; excluded from the UK, have been previously deported or are using documents reported lost or stolen.

The receipt of API would also enable Border Force to establish an individual’s status in the UK and whether they require leave to enter or to be met on arrival for further examination. It will also confirm if an individual has left the UK and in doing so complied with the terms of their permission to enter.

Current requirements

Operators and pilots are currently required by the Commissioners’ Directions^{[footnote 2]} (CDs), made under sections 35 and 64 of HMRC’s Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, to provide information for customs purposes about flights and persons on board. That information must be shared with Border Force and the police under section 36 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006^{[footnote 3]} to the extent that it is likely to be of use for immigration and policing purposes.

For GA flights this requirement can be met by providing data on a General Aviation Report (GAR). Compliance is estimated at around 90%.

CDs providing consistent timings across all routes entered into force on 6 April 2022. These timing requirements will align with any new regulations made under the Immigration Act 1971 and the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 and compliance with the proposed regulations would satisfy the requirements of the CDs, meaning that there would be no requirement to submit two returns.

Importantly, the CDs do not require that data be submitted online directly into government systems. As a result, only 51% of GARs are submitted in this manner, meaning the remaining 49% are submitted in various ways, including by email, post or fax.

Online submission

The Home Office has a free-to-use online portal for the submission of GA data. ‘Submit a GAR’ was launched in March 2019 and now has more than 8,200 registered users, who have provided information about more than 99,000 flights^{[footnote 4]}. Those wishing to use the portal may do so by creating an account via the link below^{[footnote 5]}.

Pilots, owners or operators of GA flights using existing third-party systems^{[footnote 6]} already connected to the government’s border systems would continue to be able to use those to submit GARs, provided that these systems meet the requirements of the proposed regulations. Similarly, Fixed Base Operators with direct connections into Home Office systems would continue to be able to use those to submit GARs.

Legislative basis for new regulations

Amendments to the Immigration Act 1971 and the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, made by the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, provide for regulations for a standing requirement to supply specified information about international flights and persons on board under the 1971 Act (for immigration purposes) and the 2006 Act (for policing purposes). Schedule 5 of the 2015 Act^{[footnote 7]} inserted a new paragraph 27BA into Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971^{[footnote 8]} and a new section 32A into the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006^{[footnote 9]}. These provisions allow the Secretary of State to make regulations setting advance notification requirements for immigration and police purposes, including the information content, timescale for submission and the form and manner of submission.

Legislative basis for new Commissioners’ Directions

HMRC Commissioners may make directions or regulations under sections 35(1) and 64(2)(b) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 to require the reporting of flights and persons on board and to direct the form and manner in which reporting should be made. This means a requirement to submit data online could be introduced in new CDs or regulations.

Terrorism Act 2000

The existing requirement under Paragraph 12 of Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000^{[footnote 10]} provides that GA pilots must provide 12 hours’ notice in writing to a police constable of an intention to arrive at or depart from a non-designated airfield in the UK when making a flight between Great Britain and Northern Ireland or a flight to or from Great Britain or Northern Ireland made within the CTA. The notification enables counter-terrorism police officers to identify and respond to the movement of private aircraft which may be of national security concern. The proposed regulations will not amend this requirement. However, views are invited on its practical impact as part of this consultation.

International flights

Our proposed regulations will apply to all international flights operating to and from the UK. This will include flights to and from EU Member States.

Common Travel Area

The CTA is a travel zone (for people, not goods) between the UK, Ireland and the Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man) which facilitates the principle of free movement for British and Irish citizens and the reciprocal enjoyment of rights in one another’s state. The operation of the CTA will not change as a result of these proposals – there will be no routine immigration controls on journeys to the UK from within the CTA, and none whatsoever on the land border. This proposed requirement to provide eight fields of API in accordance with the Immigration Act 1971 and the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 will apply to all nationalities as is already the case under existing customs requirements which are set out in CDs. Compliance with the Directions will satisfy the requirements of these proposed regulations. We are seeking views on this proposal given the specific context of the CTA, and the more limited requirements for API on scheduled journeys between Ireland and Great Britain in particular.

Reporting in exceptional circumstances

Where changes in weather mean that a flight has to change at short notice, that change should, where possible, be notified in the same way as the GAR was submitted. In the event that it is not possible for the information to be supplied online and in accordance with the proposed regulations, the information should be supplied to the relevant Border Force region by telephone at the earliest opportunity, the details of which will be available on gov.uk.

Compliance

The proposed regulations would be underpinned by a civil penalty regime with a maximum penalty for non-compliance of £10,000. This is in line with the approach taken with scheduled carriers (both aviation and maritime). Penalties are always seen as a last resort where all reasonable engagement has failed to achieve compliance.

Health Measures at the Border

This consultation is seeking views on the requirement, for immigration, policing and customs purposes, to provide information online and in advance about the flight and persons on board. If a requirement was introduced to require similar information for health-related purposes this could be achieved through the same online processes.

The proposal

The General Aviation (Persons on Board, Flight Information and Civil Penalties) Regulations

We invite views on the proposal to introduce regulations for GA to require information, submitted online, from pilots, captains, operators or persons responsible in advance of departure for immigration and policing purposes. This would allow the border authorities to expedite the processing of legitimate traffic while identifying those who may cause harm to the UK and putting those who seek to avoid border controls under closer scrutiny. It will assist in planning appropriate interventions in advance of travel, both inbound and outbound, and will provide vital information for the purposes of confirming whether a person requires leave to enter the UK and needs to be met by Border Force on arrival as well as confirming that a person has left the UK before their period of leave expires.

The proposed regulations will require responsible persons to provide information no earlier than 24 hours prior to departure and no later than 2 hours in advance of departure, online, about flights to and from the UK and about the persons on board.

We also invite views on the proposal to introduce a penalty regime for non-compliance with the proposed regulations with a maximum penalty of £10,000 for non-compliance. We would like to be clear that our primary objective is to encourage compliance through engagement and penalties would be a last resort.

The government acknowledge and welcome the existing high level of reporting across the GA sector. In essence, the proposed regulations reflect what is largely current practice but with an emphasis on the way in which data is submitted – and enable more effective risk assessment of those flights. Enforcement of these regulations will focus on those who do not already assist border control and law enforcement authorities.

Proposed regulations

The proposed regulations would set the advance reporting requirements for those operating general aviation flights to and from the UK.

The regulations would set out the time limits for the supply of such information, the form and manner in which the information is to be supplied and requirements for those responsible to be able to receive communications from Border Force.

The regulations would be made under paragraphs 27BA and 27BB of Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971 and sections 32A and 32B of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

The regulations would apply in respect of all aircraft which are arriving in or expected to arrive, the UK from a place outside the UK, or are departing from or expected to depart, the UK. No information would be required to be supplied in respect of:

• military flights carrying only military personnel or
• flights in respect of which the owner or agent is subject to a written requirement for the provision of passenger or service information imposed by an immigration officer (under paragraph 27B(2) of Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971) or a constable (under section 32(2) of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006).

The Persons on Board and Flight Information Requirement

The responsible persons in respect of the aircraft (the owner or agent, and the captain) would have to supply the information required in accordance with the regulations.

The information required would have to be supplied no earlier than 24 hours prior to departure and no later than 2 hours prior to departure.

The required information must be supplied via an online form which has been provided for this purpose or by electronic means via an application which connects directly to a system for the purpose of collecting information supplied in accordance with these Regulations.

In the event of a technical failure or emergency meaning that it is not possible for the information to be supplied via an online form or via an application, the responsible person may be authorised to supply the information to Border Force by telephone or email.

The responsible persons must be able to receive communications relating to the information by telephone from Border Force.

(A) The information that would be required in respect of all individuals on board is:

• Full name
• Sex
• Date of birth
• Nationality
• Type of travel document held
• Number of travel document held
• Expiry date of travel document held
• Issuing State of travel document held
• Where a travel document is not held, the type of identification relied upon together with the number, expiry date and issuing State of that identification
• Whether the person is the captain of the aircraft, a member of crew or a passenger

(B) For flights to and from the UK to destinations within the Common Travel Area the passenger information that would be required in respect of British and Irish citizens only is:

• Full name
• Sex
• Date of birth
• Nationality
• Whether the person is the captain of the aircraft, a member of crew or a passenger

For all other individuals the passenger information that would be required is as set out at (A).

(C) The information that would be required which relates to a flight is:

• Aircraft registration mark
• Aircraft type
• Aircraft’s home aerodrome or usual base
• Expected departure date
• Expected departure time (in Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC))
• Expected arrival date
• Expected arrival time (in UTC)
• Number of persons on board the aircraft
• Place from which the flight is departing or departed immediately prior to arrival in the UK (expressed as an ICAO location indicator or IATA code or, where neither is available, a co-ordinate)
• Place in the UK into which the flight is expected to arrive from outside the UK
• Name, address and contact telephone number of the responsible persons (the owner, agent and captain).

ICAO location indicator means the four-letter code group formulated in accordance with rules prescribed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation in its manual DOC 7910 and assigned to the location of an aeronautical fixed station and IATA code means the International Air Transport Association (IATA) code for the airport.

If at any time prior to its expected departure for, or arrival in, the UK, the flight is cancelled, that must be communicated to Border Force.

The Civil Penalty

The proposed regulations would amend the Passenger, Crew and Service Information (Civil Penalties) Regulations 2015 so that a failure to comply with the information requirement in the proposed regulations may give rise to a penalty of up to £10,000.

Authority to Carry

We are also inviting views on the application of the existing Authority to Carry Scheme 2023^{[footnote 11]} to international GA.

Under the Authority to Carry Scheme 2023 a carrier is required to seek, from the Secretary of State, authority to carry passengers and crew to and from the UK. The Scheme operates primarily to refuse carriers authority to carry to the UK individuals who are excluded from the UK, have been previously deported from the UK or who are using an invalid travel document. A financial penalty may apply if a carrier fails to seek such authority (by not submitting API when required) or carries someone for whom authority was denied.

Under the Authority to Carry Scheme, submission of an advance notification under the proposed regulations (within the required timescale) would constitute a formal request for authority to carry all individuals including any crew on a particular flight. A GA operator, pilot, captain or person responsible could be liable to a civil penalty (up to a maximum of £50,000 – which reflects the seriousness and importance of complying with the Scheme) if they carry an individual whom they had been refused authority to carry.

Refusal of Authority to Carry would be communicated to the pilot, operator, captain or person responsible using the contact details provided online in compliance with the regulations.

Passenger Name Record information

Processing of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data or booking information is a unique and invaluable law enforcement tool and is collected by commercial GA operators as part of their business operations. It includes information such as names, contact details, payment and baggage details. It is used by law enforcement agencies to identify previously unknown individuals who may be involved in serious crime and terrorist offences and to identify and protect vulnerable individuals.

We are also inviting views on the feasibility of requiring PNR from commercial GA operators.

Questionnaire

We would welcome responses to the following questions set out in this consultation paper.

1. Do you consider the proposed regulations to be necessary and proportionate for border security and law enforcement purposes?

2. What are your views on the information that would be required in respect of each person on board as set out on page 12?

3. What are your views on the proposal to require notification no earlier than twenty-four hours and no later than 2 hours before departure to or from the UK?

4. What are your views on the information that would be required in respect of the flight (including in respect of the aircraft) as set out on page 13?

5. What are your views on the proposal for information about flights and persons onboard to be submitted only online using portals or apps?

6. What are your views on the gov.uk online service that allows for the online submission of data (s-GAR)? Does it meet your needs as a user of the portal? If not, please explain why?

7. If you are a pilot, captain or operator, what would be the practical implications for you of providing advance information online? Please state whether you are answering this as a pilot, captain or operator.

8. If you are an operator of commercial GA flights what do you consider the impact of the proposals would be on your business operations?

9. If you are an operator of commercial GA flights what are your views on the practicality of complying with a requirement to provide PNR data?

10. Do you think that a civil penalty will provide an effective incentive to comply with the advance reporting requirement? Why do you think this?

11. What is your view of the implications of operating the Authority to Carry Scheme in respect of international GA flights?

12. Do you have any views on how the reporting requirement should operate in exceptional circumstances, such as weather disruption or technical problems?

13. Do you have any views on the operation of the twelve-hour notification period under paragraph 12 of Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000?

14. Do you have a view on alternative approaches, whether regulatory or not, to securing the border and managing vulnerabilities relating to GA flights?

15. Do you have any views on the impact of these proposals on the operation of the Common Travel Area?

16. Are there any further comments you would like to make relating to the proposed regulations?

Thank you for participating in this consultation.

About you

Please use this section to tell us about yourself

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Date

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If you are a representative of a group, please tell us the name of the group and give a summary of the people or organisations that you represent.

Contact details and how to respond

Please respond to this consultation online at:

https://www.homeofficesurveys.homeoffice.gov.uk/s/general-aviation-consultation/

Alternatively, you can send in electronic copies to:

GeneralAviationConsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk

Or, you may send paper copies to:

GA Consultation
Passenger Policy and Border Transformation Unit
2nd Floor, Peel,
Home Office
2 Marsham Street,
London
SW1P 4DF

Complaints or comments

If you have any complaints or comments about the consultation process you should contact the Home Office at the above address.

Extra copies

Paper copies of this consultation can be obtained from this address and it is also available online at www.gov.uk.

Alternative format versions of this publication can be requested from:

GeneralAviationConsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk

Publication of response

Once we have considered the replies to the consultation, we will publish our response. The response paper will be available online at www.gov.uk.

Representative groups

Representative groups are asked to give a summary of the people and organisations they represent when they respond.

Confidentiality

Information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be published or disclosed in accordance with the access to information regimes (these are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA)).

If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, under the FOIA, there is a statutory Code of Practice with which public authorities must comply and which deals, amongst other things, with obligations of confidence. In view of this it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the Home Office.

The Home Office will process any personal data which you provide in your response to the consultation in accordance with data protection legislation, Home Office personal information charter and Borders, immigration and citizenship: privacy information notice.

Impact of Proposals

Equalities Statement

During the development of this consultation, the Home Office has given due consideration to the impact these proposals will have on different groups as set out in section 149 (7) of the Equality Act 2010.

The Home Office does not routinely keep statistics when receiving and processing API in relation to any of the protected characteristics identified in the 2010 Act. There is nothing at present to suggest that the Home Office is or will be acting in a manner that is directly discriminatory towards any of the protected characteristics. Our preliminary analysis indicates that the Home Office may be acting in a manner that is indirectly discriminatory towards 3 of the protected characteristics: disability, race and sex.

Disability: The proposed regulations will require that information is submitted online, as a result the proposed regulations would disproportionately and adversely affect individuals who are visually impaired.

The Home Office notes that individuals who fly are unlikely to have significant visual impairment given the necessity to be able to navigate safely. However, as levels of impairment vary there is the possibility that individuals may have difficulty in using online services. We must also consider that the requirement to provide advance passenger information will rest with the ‘responsible person’, whilst in the majority of cases this will be the pilot, there may be occasions when that is not the case. In compliance with the Government Digital Service requirements, the online portals can be used with assistive technology for the visually impaired. As part of this consultation we will work with disability support groups to ensure that the portal meet the accessibility needs of individuals who may be adversely affected by our proposals.

Race: Whilst there is no evidence to indicate that this proposal may have more of an impact on any particular nationality over another. We have considered that British and EEA nationals may be more likely to be making short journeys to and from the UK given the proximity of the UK to countries such as France and as a result are more likely to be at a particular disadvantage when compared with other nationalities.

Sex: Statistics from 2021 held by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) indicate that 96.6% of individuals holding a UK private pilot’s licence are men^{[footnote 12]} as such the proposal may disproportionately and adversely impact them, putting them at a particular disadvantage. The government is working with the GA sector to encourage more women into stem subjects such as aviation however it will take time to achieve some degree of parity.

Given the objective of this policy is to secure and protect the UK border and enable Border Force to better assess the risk posed from GA flights this policy is considered to have been objectively justified as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim in relation to this protected characteristic.

As part of this consultation we encourage individuals to respond and share their views on any aspects of direct or indirect discrimination they feel may occur from the implementation of the proposed regulations.

Impact Assessment

An initial assessment of the impact of these proposals has been carried out, and is published alongside this consultation document, the regulations and their application are set out in this consultation document. The assessment indicates the familiarisation cost of introducing regulations to GA businesses in year 1 is estimated to be between £0.3 and £1.0 million with a central estimate of £0.6 million. Over 10 years, the ongoing costs to business are in a range of £0.0 to £1.2 million (PV), with a central estimate of £0.3 million (PV).

Consultation – Groups and Responses

Copies of this consultation paper are being sent to professional bodies and representative groups at Annex A.

Consultation principles

The principles that government departments and other public bodies should adopt for engaging stakeholders when developing policy and legislation are set out in the consultation principles.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consultation-principles-guidance

Annex A

We are inviting responses from those listed below, however, views are welcomed from anyone with an interest in or views on the subject covered by this consultation paper:

Associations

• Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) & International AOPA

• British Aviation Group

• British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA)

• British Helicopter Association

• General Aviation Awareness Council

• General Aviation Strategic Forum

• Helicopter Club of Great Britain

• Historic Aircraft Association

• Light Aircraft Association

• Royal Aero Club

Publications

• Flyer

• Pilot

Third party GA applications

• Airbox

• Cloud Aviation

• OnlineGAR (including Sky Demon)

• Rocket Route

Other government departments, public authorities and private entities

• Civil Aviation Authority

• Department for Transport

• HMRC

• Ministry of Defence

• National Counter-Terrorism Policing Operations Centre

• National Crime Agency

• NATS

• Police Service of Northern Ireland

• Police Scotland

Devolved administrations

• Northern Ireland Executive

• Scottish Government

• Welsh Government

1. Based on 2019 figures from Department for Transport CAA and Department for Transport; https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/aviation-statistics ↩

2. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1066861/Commissioners_Directions_under_section_35_1_and_section_64_2_of_the_Customs_and_Excise_Management_Act_1979.pdf ↩

3. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/13/section/36 ↩

4. As of 1 April 2023 ↩

5. https://www.submit-general-aviation-report.service.gov.uk/welcome/index ↩

6. Including Airbox, Cloud Aviation, Rocket route and Sky Demon ↩

7. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/6/schedule/5/part/1 ↩

8. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/77/schedule/2/paragraph/27BA ↩

9. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/13/section/32A ↩

10. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/7 ↩

11. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/authority-to-carry-scheme-2023 ↩

12. www.caa.co.uk/Documents/Download/1999/a7931d88-d4ae-405d-9129-5949fcccde28/18 - figures relate to aeroplane licences UK PPL (A) ↩