Guidance

Coronavirus (COVID-19): General Aviation

Updated 19 July 2021

Roadmap out of lockdown: Step 4

The government has announced its plans to ease lockdown restrictions.

England moved to Step 4 of the roadmap on 19 July 2021.

The government have removed all legal limits on social contact and reopened any remaining closed settings. People and businesses can make informed decisions about how to manage the risk to themselves and others. The government continue to monitor the data and continue to manage the risk of serious illness from the spread of the virus.

General Aviation (GA) flying can take place without restrictions. For example, flight training for all pilots, and flights with an instructor, can take place without limits.

Moving to Stage 4 does not mean that coronavirus (COVID-19) has disappeared. As such, GA users should follow the government’s recommendations on how to stay safe and help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

When travelling within the UK, you should aim to do so safely and plan your journey in advance. When travelling internationally, you must adhere to the government rules on international travel, taking into account restrictions on travel to countries and territories on the red and amber lists.

The guidance below is to help pilots and businesses put measures in place to restart safely and ensure a smooth transition to Stage 4.

Find out what the rules are in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

International GA flying

Changes to international travel rules

From 4am Monday 4 October 2021, the rules for international travel to England will change.

• read the announcement about the rule changes
• sign up for an email alert to tell you when this page is updated

All international GA flying should follow the wider rules regarding international travel. What you need to do when you travel to England from abroad depends on where you have been in the 10 days before you arrive.

Read an overview of all the things you need to do to:

• travel abroad from England
• travel to England if you live in another country

Red list countries

If you have been in a country or territory on the red list in the last 10 days you are only allowed to enter the UK if you are a British or Irish National, or you have residence rights in the UK.

If you’re required to quarantine in a managed quarantine hotel, you can only arrive in England at certain ports of entry. Currently these are Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Birmingham, Bristol and Farnborough airports.

If you are required to quarantine in a managed quarantine hotel and do not arrive in England at one of the designated ports of entry, you may face a penalty of up to £10,000 and will be charged for the cost of transportation to the nearest designated port or entry.

Risk assessments

You need to regularly review your risk assessment to ensure it remains relevant and appropriate. The Health and Safety Executive encourages organisations to identify measures in a priority order. Risk assessments should take account of other risks and ensure controls implemented for COVID-19 do not increase risks due to other hazards.

The government has published guidance on working safely and how this can be applied in the workplace. You will need to translate this into the specific actions depending on the nature of your business.

Social distancing

Social distancing rules (2 metres or 1 metre with additional mitigations) have been lifted in the vast majority of settings. They do, however, still apply at ports of entry between disembarkation and border control in order to manage the risk of variants of concern being transmitted between individuals and imported into the country.

This include areas in ports and airports wherever there are people travelling to the UK from outside the Common Travel Area (CTA) ahead of border control.

Face coverings

In England, the legal requirements to wear a face covering have been lifted in all settings. However, the government still recommends and expects that people wear face coverings in enclosed and crowded spaces where they come into contact with people they don’t normally meet. Such as, at local airports, aerodromes or on aircraft.

Businesses are free to determine their own face coverings policy based on their health and safety risk assessments. Customers should follow the rules and guidance set by businessess.

If a face covering is worn:

• it is important to wash or sanitise your hands before and after touching your face covering
• use a ‘black bag’ waste bin or litter bin to dispose of it – do not put face coverings in a recycling bin or drop them as litter
• be mindful that a face covering may inhibit communication with people who rely on lip reading, facial expressions and clear sound

Aerodromes and training organisations in England

Steps that organisations should consider taking include:

• encouraging visitors to use hand sanitiser or handwashing facilities as they enter the premises
• if a port of entry, calculating the maximum number of visitors that can reasonably follow social distancing guidelines between disembarkation and border control, adjusting how people move through certain parts of the premises to reduce congestion (such as queue management or one-way flow)
• using online or telephone pre-booking systems, for example when booking flying lessons, and when booking an appointment, asking if customers can attend on their own, where possible
• encouraging customers to arrive at the time of their scheduled appointment or lesson
• informing customers of guidance about visiting the premises prior to, and at the point of arrival, including information on websites, on booking forms and in entrance ways

Toilets

Public toilets, portable toilets and toilets inside premises should be kept open and carefully managed to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19.

Steps that will usually be needed:

• using signs and posters to build awareness of good handwashing technique, the need to increase handwashing frequency and to avoid touching your face, and to cough or sneeze into a tissue which is binned safely, or into your arm if a tissue is not available
• consider the use of social distancing marking in areas where queues normally form, and the adoption of a limited entry approach, with one in, one out – whilst avoiding the creation of additional bottlenecks
• to enable good hand hygiene consider making hand sanitiser available on entry to toilets where safe and practical, and ensure suitable handwashing facilities including running water and liquid soap and suitable options for drying (either paper towels or hand driers) are available
• setting clear use and cleaning guidance for toilets, with increased frequency of cleaning in line with usage – use normal cleaning products, paying attention to frequently hand touched surfaces, and consider use of disposable cloths or paper roll to clean all hard surfaces
• keep the facilities well ventilated, for example by fixing doors open where appropriate
• special care should be taken for cleaning of portable toilets and larger toilet blocks
• putting up a visible cleaning schedule can keep it up to date and visible
• providing more waste facilities and more frequent rubbish collection

Test and trace

You should assist the NHS Test and Trace service by keeping records of customers, visitors and staff for 21 days and providing data to NHS Test and Trace if requested.

Training and flying instructors

Flying instructors and support staff should be formally informed of the risks and all actions being taken to combat the risks. This is to ensure they:

• understand the specific risks and mitigations
• understand site protocols
• are physically and mentally well enough to engage in a return to training

It will be for individual training organisations to agree with their instructors any conditions for their return.

Instructors deemed clinically extremely vulnerable should continue to follow government advice.

Cleaning is vital in all areas of the training venue and aircraft. Training organisations should write and implement a cleaning plan. This should be updated when new information becomes available.

It should ensure that all areas to be accessed by flying instructors, students and support staff are deep cleaned to a minimum standard. This includes regular cleaning for:

• surfaces on board the aircraft
• all other areas accessed by students, instructors and support staff
• all frequently touched surfaces, for example, door handles, banister rails, buttons and toilet areas

The government has published guidance on working safely and how this can be applied in the workplace. Each business will need to translate this into the specific actions it needs to take depending on the nature of the business and how it is operated, managed and organised.

Actions you could take include:

• more frequent hand washing and surface cleaning
• using your judgement on wearing a face covering, where it is safe to do so
• disinfection of the aircraft (i.e. frequent touch points including headsets) and outside facilities to a standard which follows government guidance for cleaning in non-healthcare settings
• provision and use of hand sanitiser

Organisations should make customers aware of, and encourage compliance with, limits on gatherings.

Communications for aerodromes

Aerodrome operators and others involved in GA are encouraged to communicate with local communities. This is to ensure that the easing of restrictions on GA activity is understood not just by the GA community, but also by the general public – particularly those living near to airfields. This is to avoid people becoming concerned by the increase in airfield activity.

Pilots should also act responsibly, for example by avoiding noise-sensitive and built-up areas.

Both the CAA and stakeholder organisations within the GA community are valuable sources of information about managing the challenges of flying in the current environment, and members of the community are encouraged to consult both for more detailed advice and guidance where applicable.

Read the CAA’s advice and tips for a safe return to flying.

Coronavirus testing before travel to England

If you do not present proof of a negative COVID-19 test result, you may not be able to travel to England, and could be fined on arrival into England.

Find out more about COVID-19 testing for people travelling to England.

General Aviation activities in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales

This guidance refers to the guidelines that only apply in England. There may be information in this guidance that is useful for all individuals and businesses taking part in GA activities to consider, but any GA activities in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales must be carried out in a way that ensures that all COVID-19 rules and guidelines are complied with in those locations.

For information relating to relevant rules and guidance for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales please consult the website of the relevant devolved administration, which will be updated as required.

• information relating to Northern Ireland
• information relating to Scotland
• information relating to Wales