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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.



Note: it is the published advice of the UK Government that all aerodromes should be safeguarded.

CAP 738 – Safeguarding of Aerodromes offers guidance to those responsible for the safe operation of an aerodrome, to help them assess what impact a proposed development or construction might have on their operation. The information required to enable them to make this assessment is detailed in CAP 168, Licensing of Aerodromes which reflects the Standards and Recommended Practices of ICAO Annex 14 Volume I – Aerodrome Design and operations.

To maintain the integrity of an aerodrome’s operation, aerodrome licensees should ensure that the obstacle limitation surfaces are safeguarded against any proposed development or construction that may impact upon their operation.

The nature of Instrument Flight Procedure (IFP) design also demands that a separate safeguarding assessment of proposed development or construction and temporary obstacles be undertaken against current and any possible future IFPs. This assessment is to be undertaken by a UK Approved Procedure Design Organisation (APDO). Whilst the aerodrome licence holder is free to use any APDO, it is recommended that the assessment should be undertaken by the APDO responsible for the latest review of their procedures as they will be best placed to conduct the assessment in the most cost effective and efficient manner.

Please note that from the 1 August 2019, the UK CAA will no longer provide a safeguarding assessment service relating to current and possible future IFPs.