Chapter IV: Charges for Air Services
Sections 73 to 80: Charges
62.Under section 73(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, the Secretary of State currently makes regulations, requiring the payment to him or specified others of amounts calculated by reference to tariffs specified in those regulations. A regulation, once made, is the source of the obligation to pay, in addition to being the means of identifying by and to whom the charges are payable, at what rate and in respect of what airspace.
63.A similar system of charging and charge recovery is to be retained under the PPP but the CAA, as part of its responsibilities as the economic regulator, will in future specify the charges in a published notice. Section 73(3) imposes a duty to pay the specified charges. The CAA will continue to have statutory powers to detain and sell aircraft in respect of unpaid charges.
64.Section 73 allows for the CAA to specify the charges payable for chargeable air services and to stipulate conditions in relation to the payment of those specified charges. Section 74 places a duty on the CAA to publish notices containing the charges specified under section 73 and any stipulation to those charges and similarly to publish notice of any amendment to, or revocation of, those specifications or stipulations. The CAA is obliged to exercise its powers under this section in the manner it thinks best calculated to take account of international agreements to which the UK is party.
65.Section 75 allows the CAA to specify different charges in respect of different descriptions of services, aircraft or circumstances of their use. The section also requires the CAA to take account of tariffs approved or likely to be approved under international agreements when specifying the charges.
66.Section 76 establishes the liability to pay charges required to be paid under section 73(3). The liability arises regardless of the place of registration of the aircraft, its location and from where the service is provided. This section also provides that section 73 charges are recoverable in the UK and that a court in any part of the UK has jurisdiction to hear a claim. Section 77 defines chargeable air services for the purposes of this Chapter and as well as providing for the Secretary of State to amend the definition by order, allows a designation of aerodromes whereby air traffic services provided on behalf of the owner or manager thereof are not to be excepted from the definition of “chargeable air services”. Section 78 allows the CAA to recover the costs of specification and publishing of charges in the amount of the charge in certain circumstances
Sections 81 to 84: Miscellaneous
67.Section 81 provides a power for the Secretary of State to make regulations in order to facilitate the assessment and collection of charges payable under section 73. The regulations may require records of aircraft movements to be kept by operators or owners of aircraft and aerodromes and to be produced on request. These requirements may be imposed regardless of whether or not an aircraft is registered in the UK, is in the UK when the service is provided, or whether or not the relevant services are provided from a place in the UK.
68.Section 82 provides that a person commits an offence if he fails to comply with regulations made under section 82, including where he gives false information. A person also commits an offence if he is in possession of information obtained under the regulations and he discloses it other than in the ways described in subsection (2). Penalties for these offences are set out in subsections (4), (5) and (6) and range from a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum to both a fine and imprisonment of up to two years.
69.Section 83 provides that the Secretary of State may make regulations containing provisions which authorise the detention of, or the sale of detained, aircraft. Where there is default in paying a charge payable under section 73, regulations can provide for the detention and sale of any aircraft in respect of which the charge was incurred or any aircraft operated by the defaulter. Where there is default in complying with a requirement imposed by regulations under section 81, regulations can provide for the detention and sale of any aircraft by the defaulter. Section 84 contains definitions for the purpose of this Chapter.
