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At a glance

  • The Civil Aviation Authority is consulting on its proposed scheme of charges that will take effect from 1 April 2025. 
  • Proposals will see a below-inflation increase in the cost of like-for-like activity with a general price increase of 1.6%. 
  • Proposed new charges also cover cutting edge technologies including EVTOL and vertiports. 

The UK Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) consultation document, launched today, outlines proposals for how the regulator  bills industry. The suggested charges are focused on the CAA’s core mission of protecting the public and enabling aerospace.  

The proposals respond to the ever-increasing consumer demand for capacity and reliability. The changes also reflect the rapid technological advancement, with a greater drive towards decarbonisation, digitalisation, and continued demand within UK airspace.  

The level of the charges is consistent with the approach to charges and value for money proposed by the CAA as part of the government sponsored arm’s length body review in 2023.  

Tracey Martin, Chief Financial & Operations Officer at the UK Civil Aviation Authority said:  

“Effective regulation can be a positive force for innovation and safety by giving the public confidence in new products and services, and investors’ confidence to support the industry. 

“In order to effectively perform our role protecting people and enabling aerospace, it is essential that we are focused on the future and are able to keep pace with the rapid changes the industry is going through.” 

“We have proposed a reasonable balance of our regulatory obligations with investment in future innovation, helping the aviation sector to grow, and reflect the interests of all our regulatory customers.” 

The proposals in this consultation would mean the Civil Aviation Authority’s statutory charges are expected to represent an estimated 0.4% of UK Aerospace turnover – equal to 45p per UK passenger journey next year. 

The changes support the regulator’s strategic objectives including protecting people through: 

  • Protecting people by building our environmental sustainability team so they can better report on the sustainability performance of the sector and bolstering the CAA’s ability to work with the sector on standards of consumer protection and industry resilience.
  • Enabling aerospace through our Future of Flight programme and artificial intelligence strategy. To support the safe and sustainable integration of new technologies with existing aerospace users.

The consultation seeks industry feedback and is open for an eight-week period, closing on the 6 January 2025. Following the consultation period, the Civil Aviation Authority will publish a response document reflecting the feedback received from industry and the Secretary of State for Transport.  

Notes to editors:

  • The UK Civil Aviation Authority is the UK’s aviation and aerospace regulator, protecting people and enabling aerospace.
  • The consultation is open for an eight-week period and closes at midnight on the 6 January 2025. Following the consultation period, we will publish a response document reflecting the consultation feedback received from industry and the Secretary of State for Transport.
  • You can read more about the proposed Scheme of Charges and respond to our consultation on our website

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