Owners and operators of foreign registered aircraft with a temporary registration or without an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standard Certificate of Airworthiness (CofA) must obtain an Exemption from the CAA before any flight within UK airspace is undertaken.  

 

Certain Foreign Registered Aircraft not holding ICAO compliant certificate of airworthiness 

Owners of certain foreign registered aircraft not holding ICAO compliant certificate of airworthiness for aircraft registered in an ECAC Member State can utilise the provisions of CAP 747 Generic Concession No. 6, subject to compliance with the process defined therein.

 

Owners of certain foreign registered aircraft not holding ICAO compliant certificate of airworthiness for aircraft registered in non-ECAC Member States will still need to apply to the CAA for an exemption as indicated below 'Applying for an Exemption'.

  
Air Displays

For flight within the UK for the purpose of participating in an air display, please note that any CAA Exemption issued will be valid only for the transit flights to and from the UK.    

For further information see Flying Displays and Special Events

Insurance 

Following the publication of Regulation (EC) 785/2004, the CAA is monitoring compliance on behalf of the UK Department for Transport. As part of this process, insurance documentation may be required upon application for an Exemption. The documents must clearly demonstrate compliance with the EC Regulation. If this is not the case, the documentation provided will be forwarded to the Aircraft Registration Department for review.

 

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Applying for an Exemption

Application should be made using form SRG 1745 to the Applications and Approvals Department by fax or email. Please mark clearly that the application is for the attention of the "Technical Team" and attach the following documents:

• Completed form SRG 1745
  
• Current Certificate of Registration
  
• Current Certificate of Airworthiness or Special Flight Permit and any associated operating limitations
  
• Current insurance documentation

All document copies must be legible and it is essential that they show clearly the validity period and aircraft registration mark. If not written in English, a translation should be provided with the application. The reason and duration of the intended visit must also be stated. An Exemption is generally raised for a period of up to 28 days per calendar year. Extensions may be granted and are considered on an individual basis.

Note: The CAA may elect to carry out a survey of the aircraft before considering the issue of an Exemption. In this case additional fees will apply as detailed in the ORS 5, Scheme of Charges.

Further information

Exemptions are intended to allow foreign registered aircraft to visit the UK for up to 28 days, and are not intended to permit aircraft to repeatedly visit or remain in the UK for an indefinite period.

If you intend to continue to operate your aircraft in the UK, you may wish to consider registering the aircraft on the UK civil register and making an application to the CAA for the issue of a UK Permit to Fly. 

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Damaged Aircraft

In the event that the aircraft becomes grounded in the UK due to damage, an out of hours helpline has been established.

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CAA Process Flowchart

Issue of Overflight Exemptions