Air Traffic Services
4.The provisions will enable the Government to establish a public-private partnership with a strategic partner from the private sector to deliver air traffic services provided by NATS.
5.The Act allows for the transfer of the ownership of NATS (the UK’s major provider of air traffic services) from the Civil Aviation Authority (“the CAA”) to the ownership of the Secretary of State, the strategic partner and NATS employees. In doing so it will make possible a clear separation between the regulation of safety, which will remain the responsibility of the CAA, and the provision of the services.
6.The CAA will remain the single regulator for aviation with responsibility for safety regulation, economic regulation and air navigation. Air navigation is concerned, inter alia, with the safe and effective use of airspace by commercial, military and leisure users.
7.The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (“the Secretary of State”) will have powers to issue directions to a licence holder in the interests of national security or international relations and in times of war or great national emergency. Provision is also made for a special administration regime in the event of a serious and sustained breach of one of the duties in section 8 or of a licence condition by a licensed provider, and in the event of its insolvency.
8.Section 3 will make it an offence for a person to provide air traffic services (as defined in section 98) unless he is authorised to do so by an exemption or by a licence granted either by the Secretary of State or by the CAA with the consent of the Secretary of State.
9.It is the Government’s intention to grant a licence for the provision of “en route” air traffic services, that is to say instructions provided to aircraft, to guide them and to maintain safe separation from other aircraft, after they have left the control of the airport from which they have departed and prior to their coming under the control of their destination airport. The Government intends to grant exemptions to providers of other air traffic services, including air traffic control at airports.