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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.



Non-expiring approvals

Approval to transport dangerous goods - UK registered aircraft

Dangerous goods may only be transported by air as cargo (including company material such as aircraft components and substances intended as replacements or which have which have been removed) or mail under an approval granted by the State of the Operator in accordance with the EASA Air Operations Regulations Part SPA.DG, except for dangerous goods as follows:

  1. carried by passengers or the pilot-in-command, or are in baggage, in accordance with Part 8 of the Technical Instructions;
  2. carried for the purposes excepted from the requirements by Part 1 of ICAO Technical Instructions, for example:
    a) to provide, during flight, medical aid to a patient
    b) for dropping in connection with agricultural, horticultural, forestry, ice jam control and landslide clearance or pollution control activities
    c) for dropping or triggering in connection with avalanche control activities
    d) to provide, during flight, or related to the flight, aid in connection with search and rescue operations;
  3. carried by an NCO or SPO operation in reasonable quantities to facilitate flight safety, where carriage aboard the aircraft is advisable to ensure their timely availability for operational purposes;
    or
  4. carried by an ELA2 aircraft conducting an NCO operation. Regardless, the detailed requirements of the ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (e.g. packing marking labelling, documentation, acceptance checks, stowage, etc.) must be complied with.

When considering applications by UK Operators, the CAA will review and verify the following:

  • Operator has formally nominated a person to be responsible for the dangerous goods approval
  • The ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (or IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations) are available to the nominated person and all others that need to reference them
  • Policies and procedures for the transport of dangerous goods are established within the Operations Manual and other manuals (see the specimen manual entries)
  • Dangerous goods training programme is appropriate and effective (see the checklist for training programmes).
  • All applicable staff have been trained commensurate with their responsibilities
  • Procedures are established within the Compliance Monitoring System designed to verify that all relevant requirements of the ICAO Technical Instructions are complied with (not required for a) NCO and b) SPO if non-commercial or non-complex.
  • The carriage of dangerous goods is addressed within the scope of the operator's Safety Management System (not required for SPO if non-commercial or non-complex).
  • When aircraft carry dangerous goods, a copy of the ICAO publication “Emergency Response Guidance for Aircraft Incidents Involving Dangerous Goods”, or another document containing equivalent information, must be available on the aircraft to the crew during the flight.

Complete CAA Form SRG 2807, submit the appropriate fee using Payment Form SRG 2812 and send to the Dangerous Goods Office. Details of costs can be found in the CAA Scheme of Charges - Air Operator and Police Air Operator Certificates.

Close Approval to transport dangerous goods - UK registered aircraft

Approval to transport munitions of war - UK and foreign registered aircraft

In accordance with the EASA Air Ops Regulation and Air Navigation Order, UK Operators flying anywhere in the world and foreign Operators flying within UK airspace may only transport munitions of war when an approval has been granted by the CAA.

This does not apply to:

  • an aircraft which is flying under and in accordance with the terms of a police air operator's certificate
  • any sporting weapon or munition of war taken or carried on board an aircraft registered in a country other than the United Kingdom if the sporting weapon or munition of war may under the law of the country in which the aircraft is registered be lawfully taken or carried on board for the purpose of ensuring the safety of the aircraft or of persons on board.

UK Operators - complete CAA Form SRG2813, submit the appropriate fee using Payment Form SRG 2812 and send to the Dangerous Goods Office. Details of costs can be found in the CAA Scheme of Charges - Air Operator and Police Air Operator Certificates.

Foreign Operators - complete CAA Form SRG2814, submit the appropriate fee using Payment Form SRG 2812 and send to the Dangerous Goods Office. Details of costs can be found in the CAA Scheme of Charges - Air Operator and Police Air Operator Certificates.

Close Approval to transport munitions of war - UK and foreign registered aircraft

Short term approvals / exemptions

The ICAO Technical Instructions include provisions for shipment approvals to be granted for certain commodities which do not fully meet the standard shipment requirements.

There are also provisions for exemptions to be granted in instances of extreme urgency; or when other forms of transport are inappropriate; or when full compliance with the prescribed requirements is contrary to public interest. In such instances every effort must be made to achieve an overall level of safety in transport which is at least equivalent to the level of safety provided for in the ICAO Technical Instructions.

Applications for an approval or exemption should be made at least 10 working days before the date of the flight on which the dangerous goods are to be carried. All same day services for Dangerous Goods are currently suspended.

If this will have a detrimental operational impact please contact our Dangerous Goods team at dgo@caa.co.uk.

Exemption to carry Class 1 Dangerous Goods - aircraft

Complete CAA Form SRG 2804, submit the appropriate fee using Payment Form SRG 2812 and send to the Dangerous Goods Office. Details of costs can be found in the CAA Scheme of Charges - Air Operator and Police Air Operator Certificates.

Close Exemption to carry Class 1 Dangerous Goods - aircraft

Approval to carry lithium cells / batteries

CAA Form SRG 2817, together with the appropriate fee, should be sent to the Dangerous Goods Office. Details of costs can be found in the CAA Scheme of Charges - Air Operator and Police Air Operator Certificates.

Close Approval to carry lithium cells / batteries

Contacting Us

Dangerous Goods Office
Email: dgo@caa.co.uk