General Aviation gets post-Brexit boost from planned reforms including on pilot licences

Lord Frost has announced an ambitious regulatory reform programme today (16 September 2021) to set out the UK’s plans as an independent trading nation post-Brexit – including reaffirming commitments to a host of reforms to bolster the UK’s General Aviation sector.

A major boost to a sector worth nearly £4 billion to the UK economy and supporting nearly 40,000 jobs, the changes announced – including proposals to simplify pilot and crew licensing and review medical requirements on non-scheduled aircraft – will further cut red tape on requirements for General Aviation users.

The changes are expected to be welcomed by the General Aviation community and come out of a detailed consultation by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on UK General Aviation opportunities after leaving the EU.

These measures come in addition to others introduced by the government to support and enhance General Aviation in the UK, such as the electronic conspicuity device grant scheme, which is already enhancing safety for pilots and regulatory changes made since the end of the transition period, including on pilot medical declarations, as well as establishing an independent review panel for complaints against CAA decisions.

Robert Courts Aviation Minister said:

I want the UK to be seen as the best place in the world for General Aviation with a flourishing, wealth-generating and job-producing sector. General Aviation is the grassroots of the wider aviation sector and fundamental to attracting the next generation of pilots and skills into the sector.

The host of reforms announced today will help to cut unnecessary red tape for the sector which, alongside government investment, will help us continue with our ambitious goals to develop one of the UK’s most important sectors.

The government has published its wider General Aviation roadmap to set out its vision and strategic priorities for the sector during our recovery from the pandemic.

The reforms will benefit a range of crucial business services and enhance the UK’s wider aviation sector supply chain and form a major milestone in the process, as the government will continue to capitalise on the range of opportunities available for the sector now the UK has left the EU.