The Civil Aviation (Route Charges for Navigation Services) (Amendment) Regulations 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Civil Aviation (Route Charges for Navigation Services) Regulations 1997.

The 1997 Regulations provide for a charge to be paid to Eurocontrol by the operator of an aircraft. The unit rates in ECUs set out in Schedule 2 are calculated by reference to the costs of provision of en-route navigation services in the participating countries in the Eurocontrol charges system, the amount of traffic using each country’s airspace and the relationship of each country’s currency to the ECU over a period agreed by Ministers of the participating countries. The interaction of these elements varies in each country These regulations introduce new unit rates for Austria, Cyprus, the Republic of Ireland and Turkey. In calculating the revised charges the average of the exchange rates between ECU and the currencies of the participating countries obtaining in July 1997 have been used. In the case of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, the unit rate is established in ECUs.

The unit rates for Cyprus and Turkey have increased on average of 6 per cent and the unit rates for Austria and the Republic of Ireland have decreased on average by 4.8 per cent. The unit rates of all other States including the United Kingdom remain unchanged.

The United Kingdom Air Pilot and the foreign Aeronautical Information Publications referred to in the Regulations can be purchased from Westward Digital Limited, 37 Windsor Street, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 2DG and can be inspected at major aerodromes in the United Kingdom.