Appeal a decision the CAA has made affecting your organisation

This applies where a CAA official has advised you of a refusal to issue or a proposal to vary, suspend or revoke any of the following:

• an aerodrome licence;
• an air operator's certificate;
• an air traffic controller's licence;
• an approval for a person to provide an air traffic control service;
• a certificate of airworthiness or a permit to fly;
• an approval of equipment for use on board an aircraft or in the provision of an air traffic control service;
• a maintenance engineer's licence;
• a pilot's licence; or
• any other type of licence, certificate, authorisation or approval issued by the CAA.

You are entitled to have the decision or proposal reviewed in accordance with Regulation 6 of the Civil Aviation Authority Regulations 1991 (Section 6 of CAP 393).

The process

• To request a review, simply write or email the CAA official who has sent you the decision or proposal clearly stating that you wish the matter to be reviewed. You will then be contacted by a CAA lawyer who will be appointed to manage the review who will be able to answer any queries about the process.
• If the applicant/holder requests a review, the decision must be made only by Members of the CAA after conducting a review. The review is conducted by a Panel of Members of the CAA who are appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport.
• The review will include a hearing which the appellant may attend.
• In the case of an appeal about fitness (of character as opposed to medical fitness) there is a right of appeal from the CAA to the County Court (or the Sheriff in Scotland).

A full guide to the review process is available in: CAP 1048 - Guidance for Applicant: Conduct of Reviews or Proposals made by CAA SARG.

Where UK-designated air carriers wish to operate more services or offer more capacity than available under terms of any Air Services Agreement between the UK and foreign governments, a position of "scarce capacity" will arise. In these circumstances, it will be the role of the CAA to determine which of these carriers should be awarded the right or rights to operate the available services on these capacity-constrained routes.

The process

The Civil Aviation (Allocation of Scarce Capacity) Regulations 2007 states that in order to operate commercially on a capacity-constrained route between the UK and any other state, a Scarce Capacity Allocation Certificate will be required. Any air carrier licensed and established in the UK is entitled to apply for such a certificate. The decision to award the certificate rests with the CAA.

A decision to grant, refuse to grant, revoke or vary (otherwise than on the application of the holder) a Scarce Capacity Allocation Certificate will be made by at least one Member of the CAA. The Civil Aviation (Allocation of Scarce Capacity) Regulations 2007 sets out the procedures for such a decision including provision for service of representations and a hearing.

There is no further appeal from the decision of the CAA. The CAA procedure is however subject to the jurisdiction of the Court by way of judicial review.

Additional information

Further guidance can be found in the CAA's Official Record Series 1.

For more information please contact:

Airline Licensing
Consumers & Markets Group
11 Westferry Circus
5th Floor
Canary Wharf
London E14 4HD

Tel: +44 (0) 33 0138 3484
Fax: +44 020 7453 6322
Email: Airlinelicensing@caa.co.uk

Air carriers based in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man are not Community air carriers and so are not subject to the operating licence/route licence regime. In order to fly outside the UK they require an Air Transport Licence issued by the CAA.

The process

• The CAA must first serve notice of its proposal on the applicant/holder.
• To follow this procedure the appellant/holder should respond to the staff member who has sent the proposal notice.
• You will then be contacted by CPG staff who will be able to answer any queries about the process.
• The applicant/holder is then entitled to serve representations and have a hearing before the decision by the CAA is made.
• There is a right of appeal to the Secretary of State.

Part III of the Civil Aviation Authority Regulations 1991 (Section 6 of CAP393) sets out the full procedure to be followed where the CAA proposes to refuse an application for an Air Transport Licence or to vary, suspend or revoke an Air Transport Licence.

Where a CAA staff member has advised you of a proposal to refuse to grant, to vary, to suspend or to revoke an Air Travel Organiser's Licence (ATOL), you are entitled to serve representations before a decision is made.

The process

• If you wish to do this contact the staff member who advised you.
• You will then be contacted by CPG staff who will be able to answer any queries about the process.
• In the case of an appeal about fitness (of character as opposed to medical fitness) there is a right of appeal from the CAA to the County Court (or the Sheriff in Scotland).

The full ATOL decision process is set out in the Civil Aviation (Air Travel Organisers' Licensing) Regulations 2012.

A person aggrieved by certain decisions or measures of an airport operator may appeal to the CAA under Regulation 20(1) of the Airports (Ground Handling) Regulations 1997. Those decisions and measures cover:

1. arrangements for consultation on ground handling services (Regulation 7);
2. selection of suppliers following a determination by the CAA (Regulation 12); and
3. access to airport installations (Regulation 16).

The process

The general procedures for an appeal are found in Part I to Schedule 2 of the 1997 Regulations as amended by Regulation 10 of the Airports (Groundhandling) (Amendments) Regulations 1998. Appeals can be both written and oral. To request an appeal or for further information you should contact:

Economic Regulation Group
Civil Aviation Authority
45-59 Kingsway
London WC2B 6TE

Telephone: 020 7453 6232
E-mail: economicregulation@caa.co.uk

A person aggrieved by certain determinations made by the CAA may appeal to the Secretary of State under Regulation 20(2) of the 1997 Regulations. The procedures for such an appeal are found in Part II to Schedule 2 of the 1997 Regulations as amended by Regulation 11 of the 1998 Amendment Regulations.

In accordance with EU Regulation 1008/2008, a dry lease agreement to which a United Kingdom air carrier is a party or a wet lease agreement under which the United Kingdom air carrier is the lessee is subject to prior safety approval from the CAA.

Where a United Kingdom air carrier wet leases a non-EU/EEA registered aircraft an approval is required from the Department for Transport. Before such an approval can be granted, the CAA must be satisfied that all safety standards equivalent to those imposed by Community or United Kingdom law are met.

You are entitled to have CAA decisions reviewed by one or more CAA Board Members if they:

• refuse a safety approval or grant one subject to conditions; or
• conclude that it is not satisfied as the safety standards applicable to a non-EU/EEA carrier.

The process

To request a review, simply write to or email the CAA official who has sent you the decision or proposal clearly stating that you wish the matter to be reviewed. You will then be contacted by a CAA lawyer who will be appointed to manage the review who will be able to answer any queries about the process.

The full appeal procedures are contained in the Licensing of Air Carriers Regulations 1999. (These are currently being updated to reflect the above changes).

When applying for a medical certificate (required to act as a pilot or an air traffic controller) a medical assessment will be carried out by an Aeromedical Examiner (AME) approved by the CAA who may issue the certificate, assess the applicant as unfit or refer the decision on fitness to the Authority Medical Section (AMS).

In the case of a medical certificate for a Light Aircraft Pilot's Licence some assessments may be undertaken by the applicant's General Practitioner.

A request for a secondary review can be made in the event of denial or variation of a certificate. The secondary review process is included in our information sheets. Following this, there is a possibility of a final appeal and further information is available in the medical appeal procedure document, which includes all the associated forms.

You can also refer to our requirements and guidance on fitness for medical certification.

This applies where the CAA makes a decision to:

1. refuse to grant a noise certificate or exemption,
2. revoke or vary a noise certificate, or
3. revoke an exemption.

The process

• Regulation 26 of The Aeroplane Noise Regulations 1999 requires the CAA to serve on the applicant, holder or other custodian a notice stating the reasons for the decision.
• The applicant or holder may, within 14 days after the date of service of that notice, serve on the CAA a request that the case be reviewed by the CAA.
• A decision in such a case will be made by a Member of the CAA.

Regulation 26 sets out the full procedures relevant to such a review.

To request a review contact:

Where the CAA has reason to believe that the ownership and control requirements of the EC Regulation are not met (carriers to be owned and controlled by EU nationals) it must inform the Secretary of State for Transport who may direct the CAA to refuse to grant or to revoke the operating licence.

Unless refusing or revoking in accordance with a direction from the Secretary of State for Transport or issuing in accordance with a request by the applicant/holder, a right to have the decision reviewed must be offered.

The process

• To request a review contact the staff member who has advised you of the CAA's intentions.
• You will then be contacted by CPG staff who will be able to answer any queries about the process.
• If the applicant/holder requests a review, the decision becomes one which must normally be made by two Members of the CAA.
• The appellant is entitled to submit written representations for consideration by the Members and to appear at a hearing.

The appeal procedures against refusal of or revocation of an operating licence by the CAA in other circumstances are set out in the CAA's Official Record Series 1 - Annex 5.

Regulation 19 of the Licensing of Air Carriers Regulations 1992 provides for an appeal to the Secretary of State against a decision of the CAA to refuse, revoke or suspend an Operating Licence, and Schedule 1 to those Regulations sets out the procedure for appeals to the Secretary of State.

Article 13 of EC Regulation 2407/92 provides that an undertaking that is refused an Operating Licence may refer the question to the Commission, which may consider whether or not the requirements of the Regulation have been fulfilled.

A Community carrier based in the United Kingdom must hold an operating licence in order to fly within the EU.

Where a Community air carrier is based in the UK and wishes to fly outside the EU it is also required to hold a route licence issued by the CAA.

Part III of the Civil Aviation Authority Regulations 1991 (Section 6 of CAP393) sets out the procedure to be followed where the CAA proposes to refuse an application for a Route Licence or to vary, suspend or revoke a Route Licence.

The process

• The CAA must first serve notice of its proposal on the applicant/holder.
• The applicant/holder is then entitled to serve representations and have a hearing before the decision is made.
• To follow this procedure the appellant/holder should respond to the proposal notice from the CAA. You will then be contacted by CPG staff who will be able to answer any queries about the process.

CAP1049 provides guidance for applicants seeking to review conduct of a test or exam. Under Regulation 6(5) of the Civil Aviation Authority Regulations 1991 (extract attached at Annex A), any person who has failed any test or examination which must be passed before being granted or exercising the privileges of a personnel licence, may request that the CAA reviews the conduct of the test or examination to determine whether it was properly conducted.

General

Third party information

As part of our regulatory role, the CAA holds information provided to us by third parties that they may consider as commercially sensitive or confidential. If we are asked to release such information under the FOIA or EIR we will, where possible, consult with the third parties concerned to determine if it is appropriate to release the information.

In addition, some information held by the CAA is protected by statutory bars on disclosure contained in Section 23 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, Section 74 of the Airports Act 1986 and Section 102 and Schedule 9 of the Transport Act 2000.

In either case, if we do withhold information we will tell you which exemption(s) or exception(s) have been applied and why.

Fees and Charges

Although we are able to charge for reasonable costs incurred in responding to a request, such as photocopying and postage, the CAA does not normally charge for providing information under the FOIA or EIR.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) provides a right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities. It doesn't provide access to information about the environment, or about you as an individual, which are covered by the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and the Data Protection Act 1998 respectively.

We do not have to provide the information requested if we estimate that it would exceed 18 hours to locate and retrieve it, or if a request is vexatious.

Timescales

We will respond to a request for information no later than 20 working days following the date of receipt.

If we require further details to identify and locate the information you have asked for, we will contact you as soon as possible and will respond to your request within 20 working days of receiving that clarification.

In the event that some or all of the information requested falls under a qualified exemption, the CAA must consider the public interest in the release of that information. Should this occur, we are able to extend this timescale to consider the public interest. When we do this we will inform you within 20 working days following the receipt of your request and will normally provide a full response in no more than an additional 20 working days.

Exemptions

Certain information is exempt from disclosure. Should any or all of the information you have requested be exempt, we will tell you which exemption(s) have been applied and why.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you have the right to request an internal review. We have a formal internal review process for dealing with appeals or complaints in connection with requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. If you remain dissatisfied, you can appeal to the Information Commissioner.

The Environmental Information Regulations 2004

The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) provide a right of access to environmental information held by public authorities. Environmental information includes information about the air, water, soil or food chain, factors affecting them such as noise, energy and emissions and plans or policies likely to affect the environment.

We do not have to provide the information if a request is 'manifestly unreasonable'.

Timescales

We will normally respond to a request for environmental information no later than 20 working days following the date of receipt.

If we require further details to identify and locate the information you have asked for, we will contact you as soon as possible and will respond to your request within 20 working days of receiving that clarification.

If we need more time to respond because of the complexity or volume of the information, we are able to take a further 20 working days to respond. When we need to do this, we will inform you within 20 working days following the receipt of your request.

Exceptions

There are exceptions to the right of access for certain information where there would be adverse consequences from it being released. Should this apply to any or all of the information you have requested, we will tell you which exception(s) have been applied and why.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you have the right to request an internal review. We have a formal internal review process for dealing with appeals or complaints in connection with requests under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. If you remain dissatisfied, you can appeal to the Information Commissioner.

Details of forthcoming hearings will be listed here.

Recent hearings include:

• Notice of In Person Public Hearing - 2 and 3 October 2024