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UK Civil Aviation Regulations

These are published by the CAA on our UK Regulations pages. EU Regulations and EASA Access Guides published by EASA no longer apply in the UK. Our website and publications are being reviewed to update all references. Any references to EU law and EASA Access guides should be disregarded and where applicable the equivalent UK versions referred to instead.



Air Transport Licences (ATLs) provide a parallel system of licensing for air carriers based in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. Such air carriers must hold an ATL as they cannot hold an Operating Licence (the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man were never part of the European Economic Area (EEA)).

In order to commence commercial air transport operations, in addition to an ATL, an Air Operator Certificate is required.

Full details of requirements to qualify for an ATL are available in the publication Official Record Series 1 – Licensing UK Airlines.

However, if you are based in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, we recommend you get in touch with us directly to discuss your application.

Contact us

Airline Licensing
Email: airlinelicensing@caa.co.uk
Fax: (020) 7453 6322

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Statutory publication of applications and objections procedure

There are statutory procedures for the processing of Air Transport Licence applications, set out in The Civil Aviation Authority Regulations 1991. These allow for the publication of an application and give an opportunity for objections to be made by licence holders or other interested parties.

In normal circumstances we will publish an application in its weekly Licensing Notices as soon as possible after receipt, allowing 21 days for objections to be made.

If a valid objection is made, a written decision as to how to proceed will follow a public hearing at which the applicant and objector are invited to be present.

Previous decisions are available.

Although it aims to deliver decisions as quickly as possible, if a public hearing is required the process will normally take two months from the end of the objection period.

Unopposed applications can be dealt with very quickly after the end of the objection period.