Purpose
The purpose of this notice is to inform air passengers, the aviation industry and the public of the actions we are taking to prepare for the unlikely scenario that the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 without an agreement. Preparing for EU exit is not just a matter for the government, so this notice also suggests actions that the industry and its customers should consider.
Before 29 March 2019 (may also apply to new exit date on 31 December 2020)
As an inherently international business, the safety of aviation is coordinated at a global level through the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a specialised agency of the United Nations established by the 1944 Chicago Convention. Annexes to that treaty establish worldwide standards and recommended practices for aviation safety.
Individual states make their own specific aviation safety legislation in the context of the Chicago Convention and its annexes. There is a global trend towards harmonisation, both through the ICAO and on a bilateral basis through bilateral aviation safety agreements. These agreements provide a mechanism for 2 or more states to make provision for the recognition of each other’s aviation safety regimes, and to work together to improve aviation safety regulation.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is the European Union Agency responsible for civil aviation safety. As an EU member state, the UK is currently part of the EASA system, which means that we have a common set of harmonised aviation safety rules. This allows national authorities (in the UK this is the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)) to issue relevant safety approvals and licences (hereafter referred to as certificates), such as pilots’ licences, that are automatically recognised as valid in respect of aircraft registered in other EU countries. This means that in addition to the recognition provided under the Chicago Convention, certificates issued by the UK CAA are recognised as valid for aircraft registered anywhere in the EU. In return, certificates issued by the national authorities of other EU countries are recognised as valid for UK registered aircraft, because they have been issued to the same regulatory requirements as in the UK.
Whilst for the most part the EASA system works on the basis of mutual recognition, EASA itself directly provides:
- approvals to businesses established in EU countries designing aeronautical products, known as a design organisation approval
- approvals to products such as aircraft, engines and propellers, known as a type certificate
- safety certificates to organisations established in third countries (i.e. countries outside the EASA system) that want to provide goods and services into the EASA system
EASA also facilitates and oversees the system of automatic mutual recognition between participating states. Although they are not EU countries, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland participate in the EASA system.
The EU has also concluded bilateral aviation safety agreements (BASAs) with the United States, Canada and Brazil, which reduce the duplication of safety oversight activities and smoothes the way for the recognition of each other’s safety certificates. Although those countries have different safety regimes to the EU, the agreements provide a mechanism to ensure that safety certificates from either party can be accepted by the other.
After March 2019 if there’s no deal
The technical rules and standards of EU aviation safety legislation would be retained and applied by the UK as domestic law, through the provisions of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (“the Withdrawal Act”).
The functions currently performed by EASA in relation to approvals for UK designed aeronautical products and approvals for third country organisations would be conferred on the CAA. These are explained in more detail below. The CAA has been preparing to take on these responsibilities since the EU referendum, and we are confident that they will be ready to perform these functions if required.
If there’s no deal, the automatic mutual recognition of aviation safety certificates, provided for under the EASA system, would cease to apply to the UK. A large number of different safety certificates are issued to organisations and individuals involved in the design, production, maintenance and operation of aircraft and details on which certificates would be recognised in the UK and EU. An annex below explains the conditions under which they are provided.
The government is working closely with the three countries with whom the EU has concluded a BASA to agree replacement bilateral arrangements, to apply as soon as the EU-negotiated agreements cease to apply for the UK.
UK-registered aircraft
Many organisations and personnel have to be certified, approved or licensed before they can undertake activities involving UK-registered aircraft.
All certificates issued by the CAA, if valid immediately before exit day, would continue to be recognised as valid in the UK on and after exit day. Under the Chicago Convention, most certificates are linked to the state of registration of the aircraft, so a UK aircraft with UK-issued certificates and licences would still be recognised as valid for the operation of international air services.
Certificates and other documents issued and valid prior to exit day by organisations approved in accordance with the EU requirements by EASA, or the competent authority of an EASA state, would remain valid by virtue of the Withdrawal Act. They would have been issued in accordance with the same rules as a UK certificate.
We intend that these certificates issued by EASA or the competent authority of an EASA state would:
- continue to be in force or effective on and after exit day for a period of up to 2 years (unless it would otherwise have expired, or there was any ongoing enforcement action)
- be treated as if issued by the CAA
At the end of 2 years (or sooner if the certificate expires during the intervening period) new certificates issued by the CAA under UK legislation would be required.
This is necessary to ensure that the UK has a comprehensive and coherent safety oversight regime in line with its obligations under the Chicago Convention.
EU-registered aircraft
The EU has indicated that it would take a different approach to the UK. The information notices issued by the European Commission say that certificates previously issued by the CAA before exit day would no longer be automatically accepted in the EASA system after 29 March 2019 (may also apply to new exit date on 31 December 2020). Those certificates would have been issued in accordance with EU rules, and UK aviation will remain as safe the day after exit as it was the day before exit, so the UK encourages the EU to take reciprocal action in recognising UK-issued certificates.
Nonetheless, individuals and businesses exercising the privileges of UK-issued certificates for aircraft registered in the EU should consult the European Commission’s notice to stakeholders and check with the relevant EU authorities.
Personnel licences
Personnel working in the aviation industry are required to hold appropriate certificates to ensure the operational safety of commercial aircraft. This includes pilots and cabin crew, aircraft maintenance engineers and air traffic controllers. Information on the validity of those licences is set out below.
Pilots
All pilots of UK registered aircraft would need to hold an appropriate licence issued or validated by the CAA. All pilot licences issued by the CAA prior to exit day, will continue to remain valid after 29 March 2019 (may also apply to new exit date on 31 December 2020) for the operation of UK registered aircraft.
A pilot licence (known as a Part-FCL licence) issued by an EASA competent authority in accordance with the EU requirements remains valid by virtue of the Withdrawal Act and will have been issued in accordance with the same rules as the UK licences. However, the CAA must validate such a licence for it to be used in the international operation of a UK registered aircraft.
The CAA would validate Part-FCL licences that were issued and valid immediately before exit day, as long as the pilot holds adequate proficiency of the English language. Licences and validations would be valid for up to 2 years after exit day (unless it would otherwise have expired or there was any ongoing enforcement action). Further details on the procedure for validation of EU-issued Part-FCL licences will be published by the CAA shortly.
Pilots wishing to operate an aircraft registered in the EASA system must hold an appropriate licence issued, or validated, in an EASA state. Before exit day, holders of UK-issued Part-FCL licences are able to transfer it to another EASA state if they wish to operate aircraft registered in the EASA system. Pilots should check with their employer if this is likely to be necessary, and guidance on transferring licences is available from the CAA.
Engineers
Licensed engineers maintaining UK registered aircraft would need to hold an appropriate licence issued by the CAA. All maintenance engineer licences issued by the CAA prior to exit day would remain valid for work on UK registered aircraft. Valid aircraft maintenance engineer licences (Part-66 licences) issued by an EASA competent authority other than the CAA prior to exit day would remain valid for maintenance on UK registered aircraft by virtue of the Withdrawal Act. Such validity is limited to up to 2 years after exit day, after which licences issued by the CAA would be required.
The EU has indicated that it would take a different approach to the UK on the recognition of engineer licences. Engineers with licences issued by the CAA should be aware that the European Commission has stated that those licences would no longer be valid in the EASA system after exit day. This means that UK-issued Part-66 licences would no longer be valid for the performance of maintenance on aircraft registered in an EASA Member State. Maintenance engineers who would likely be required to maintain such aircraft should check with their employer to ensure that they would continue to hold the relevant licences.
Cabin crew
Cabin crew wishing to operate commercial air transport on an aircraft registered in an EASA Member State must hold an attestation issued, or validated, in an EASA Member State.
Cabin crew operating for a commercial air transport operator licensed by the CAA would need to hold a valid Cabin Crew Attestation issued by a CAA approved organisation (an Air Operator Certificate holder or an Approved Cabin Crew Training Organisation).
Cabin crew attestations issued by a CAA approved organisation would continue to be valid on a CAA licensed operator.
A cabin crew attestation issued prior to exit day in an EASA member state will remain valid by virtue of the Withdrawal Act. Such validity is limited to for up to 2 years after exit day, after which, attestations issued by CAA approved organisations will be required.
The European Commission has, however, stated that existing attestations issued by a CAA approved organisation would no longer be valid for use with EU operators after exit day. Cabin crew working for EU operators would need to hold a valid attestation issued in an EU country and may want to check with their employer if this would be necessary.
Air traffic controllers
Air traffic controllers must be licensed by the CAA in order to work in the UK. Air traffic controller licences valid in the UK before the UK leaves the EU would remain valid after the UK leaves the EU. Established procedures for exchanging licences between states continue to apply until the UK leaves the EU.
Training
Providers of pilot, air traffic control and maintenance training courses would require an appropriate approval issued by the CAA.
Existing training organisation approvals issued by the CAA would remain valid under UK law and approvals issued by an EASA competent authority other than the CAA would remain valid by virtue of the Withdrawal Act. Such validity is limited to up to 2 years after exit day, after which approvals issued by the CAA will be required.
In the case of personnel applying to the CAA for licences after the UK leaves the EU, the CAA would give credit for prior training provided to the applicant by a training organisation approved under the EASA system in the same way as the CAA would give credit to such training provided by a training organisation approved by the CAA.
However holders of existing UK-issued approvals should be aware that the European Commission has indicated that such approvals would no longer be valid in the EU after exit day. This means that holders of existing approvals would no longer be able to provide training in support of the award or ongoing validity of licences issued by other EU countries.
Aircraft certification
In order to ensure the operational safety of aircraft in commercial operations, all aspects of an aircraft’s design, production and maintenance are tightly regulated and certificates are required at each step to ensure the continued airworthiness of those aircraft. The international framework for this is the 1944 Chicago Convention, which establishes specific requirements for the states in which aircraft are designed, manufactured, registered and maintained.
Aircraft design
The design of all civil aircraft types and variants (for example, an Airbus A320neo) must be certified against an internationally recognised airworthiness code and issued with what is known as a type-certificate. This signifies that the aircraft type is manufactured in accordance with an approved design that complies with safety and environmental standards. Individual aircraft of that type can then be manufactured and given an individual certificate of airworthiness.
If in force or effective at exit day, type-certificates and other approvals related to aircraft design would be treated as if issued by the CAA (or, in the case of a maintenance release certificate, by a maintenance organisation approved by the CAA). So, no action would be required from holders of such certificates in the UK.
After 29 March 2019 (may also apply to new exit date on 31 December 2020), the CAA would take on the functions and tasks of the state of design (as established by the Chicago Convention) for products where the certificate holder is UK based. This means that the CAA would issue and oversee the appropriate type-certificates, environmental certificates and certificates for existing and new products, parts and equipment. The CAA would issue certificates to design organisations in accordance with the rules that have been brought into UK law through the Withdrawal Act.
Aircraft production
In addition to certificates of airworthiness for individual aircraft, to help ensure the operational safety of aviation, individual parts and appliances are also certified as safe. Certificates and approvals associated with aircraft production issued by the CAA, or under the privileges granted to those organisations, such as certificates of conformity for a whole aircraft or certificates of release to service for new parts, would still be recognised as valid in the UK.
Certificates and approvals associated with aircraft production issued by an EASA competent authority and in force before exit day would continue to be valid by virtue of the Withdrawal Act. It would allow the UK to treat such certificates as if they had been issued by the CAA. This would mean that for a transitional period of up to 2 years, UK-registered aircraft can still be fitted with new parts certified in accordance with EU rules prior to exit day.
The EU has indicated that it would take a different approach to the UK. The information notices issued by the European Commission state that certificates previously issued by the CAA, or by organisations approved by the CAA, before exit day would no longer be automatically accepted in the EASA system after 29 March 2019 (may also apply to new exit date on 31 December 2020).
This would mean that parts manufactured and certified by organisations approved by the CAA could not be installed on EU registered aircraft. The affected organisations could be approved as third country production organisations by EASA. However EASA has yet to provide the details for how and when it would process applications from UK manufacturers in advance of the UK leaving the EU.
Maintenance and continuing airworthiness
Once in service, aircraft require regular maintenance and this needs to be certified to ensure the continued airworthiness of the aircraft. The organisations and individuals performing that maintenance are certified to ensure that they are capable of maintaining the aircraft to an appropriately high standard.
The CAA would be responsible for fulfilling the relevant continuing airworthiness functions for aircraft types under its oversight. This means that the CAA would be responsible for providing the national authorities of other states with any information they consider necessary for the continued safe operation and oversight of aircraft designed and manufactured in the UK. Although elements of this function have formally been assigned to EASA, the CAA has maintained capability in this area and is actively building the resources, systems and processes to perform these functions.
The CAA would continue to be responsible for issuing the certificates and approvals associated with aircraft maintenance. All certificates issued by the CAA before exit day, such as maintenance organisation approvals (known as Part-145 approvals) or under the privileges granted to those organisations, such as certificates of release into service, would remain valid under UK law. That means maintenance organisations and engineers with CAA-issued certificates would still be permitted to perform maintenance on UK-registered aircraft.
Certificates and approvals associated with aircraft maintenance issued by an EASA competent authority and in force before exit day remain valid by virtue of the Withdrawal Act. Such validity is limited to up to 2 years after exit day (unless it would otherwise have expired or there was any ongoing enforcement action) after which approvals issued by the CAA will be required. It would also allow the UK to treat such certificates as if they had been issued by the CAA when used on UK registered aircraft. This would mean that for a period of up to 2 years, UK-registered aircraft could still be maintained by organisations and engineers with certificates issued by an EASA competent authority.
The EU has indicated that it would take a different approach to the UK. The information notices issued by the European Commission state that certificates previously issued by the CAA, or by organisations approved by the CAA, before exit day would no longer be automatically accepted in the EASA system after 29 March 2019 (may also apply to new exit date on 31 December 2020). This would mean that maintenance organisations approved by the CAA could not perform maintenance on EU registered aircraft. The affected organisations could be approved as third country maintenance organisations by EASA, however, EASA has yet to provide the details for how and when it would process applications from UK maintenance organisations in advance of the UK leaving the EU.
Third country operators
All third country airlines (“third country operators”) require a safety authorisation from the EASA, known as a “Part-TCO Authorisation”. If there’s no deal on EU exit, UK air carriers would become third country operators under EU legislation. Similarly EU operators will become foreign operators under UK legislation.
All foreign operators flying to the UK would require a safety approval (a UK Part-TCO approval) issued by the CAA before they can operate commercial services to the UK. This certifies that airlines meet international standards and any additional requirements applicable in UK airspace.
Part-TCO authorisations issued by EASA before 29 March 2019 (may also apply to new exit date on 31 December 2020) to airlines outside the EU would remain valid in the UK for up to 2 years after the UK leaves the EU. As EU airlines do not hold EASA issued Part-TCO authorisations they would have to obtain a UK Part-TCO approval from the CAA.
The CAA will consider each application for a UK Part-TCO authorisation on a case-by-case basis, but in principle, an airline that holds a valid EASA Air Operator Certificate would be considered as having met the qualifying requirements to hold such an approval. The UK would expect this recognition of equivalent safety standards to be reciprocated by the EU in its ‘Part-TCO’ authorisations (see below).
EASA has yet to provide the details for how and when it would process applications from UK airlines in advance of the UK leaving the EU. The UK however would expect the recognition of equivalent safety standards to be on a reciprocal basis. More information about Part-TCO is available on the EASA website.
As described in the technical notice on flights to and from the UK, all foreign air carriers, including from the EU, would also require a permit to operate from the CAA (known as a ‘foreign carrier permit’). More information about the process for applying for a foreign carrier permit is available on the CAA website.
Aircraft leasing
If a UK airline wanted to wet-lease an aircraft registered outside the UK, they would continue to require prior-approval from the CAA. An aircraft wet-lease is when the lease also includes the crew, maintenance, insurance and operation of the aircraft by its original operator rather than the airline leasing the aircraft. As today, if a UK airline wanted to wet lease an aircraft registered outside the EU or EEA, they would still need to demonstrate that it is justified on the basis of:
- exceptional needs; or
- is necessary to overcome operational difficulties; or
- to satisfy seasonal capacity needs.
This would replicate the current position and preserve carriers’ commercial flexibility by avoiding additional approval processes.
The EU would treat the UK as a third country from exit day and so EU airlines would also have to satisfy their own national authorities that the lease was justified on one of the three conditions above.
Airports
The certificates issued to airports by the CAA would remain valid and these organisations should be largely unaffected by the changes to the safety regulatory regime.
More information
This is not a standalone notice. Other relevant notices include:
We will publish more information in the coming months. We aim to give businesses and individuals as much certainty as possible as soon as we can, and to ensure that any new requirements are not unduly burdensome.
This notice is meant for guidance only. You should consider whether you need separate professional advice before making specific preparations.
It is part of the government’s on-going programme of planning for all possible outcomes. We expect to negotiate a successful deal with the EU.
Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and participate in other EU arrangements. As such, in many areas, these countries adopt EU rules. Where this is the case, these technical notices may also apply to them, and EEA businesses and citizens should consider whether they need to take any steps to prepare for a ‘no deal’ scenario
[Annex and Table Omitted]
