The Civil Aviation (Route Charges for Navigation Services) (Second Amendment) Regulations 2000

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Civil Aviation (Route Charges for Navigation Services) Regulations 1999 (the “principal Regulations”) as follows:

(1) In regulation 5(4) of the principal Regulations the rate of interest payable is increased from 7.82% to 9.45% (regulation 2(1)).

(2) New unit rates are introduced in Schedule 2 of the principal Regulations reflecting forecasts of costs and traffic for 2001 and taking into account the balance of over and under recoveries of revenue as compared with costs experienced by countries participating in the Eurocontrol charges system in 1999. Moldova will become a participating State in the Eurocontrol charges system on 1st January 2001 (regulation 2(2) and Schedule).

The unit rates in euros set out in Schedule 2 of the principal Regulations 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 euro over a period agreed by Ministers of the participating countries. The interaction of these elements varies in each country. In calculating the revised charges the average of the exchange rate between the euro and the currencies of the participating countries obtaining in the month of July 2000 have been used in the case of those countries which do not establish their unit rate in euros.

The unit rates of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ireland, Italy and Slovenia decrease on average by 6.7%. The unit rate for Portugal (Santa Maria FIR) decreases by 21.9%. The unit rates of Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal (Lisbon FIR), Romania, Slovakia, Spain (Madrid and Barcelona FIRs), Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey increase on average by 12.3%. The unit rate for Spain (Canaries FIR) increases by 14.0%. The unit rate of the United Kingdom increases by 2.4%.

The United Kingdom Air Pilot and the Foreign Aeronautical Information Publications referred to in the Regulations can be purchased from Westward documedia Limited, 37 Windsor Street, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 2DG and can be inspected at major aerodromes in the United Kingdom. The office of Eurocontrol is at Rue de la Fusée 96 B-1130, Brussels.

A regulatory impact appraisal has been prepared in connection with these regulations. It has been placed in the libraries of each of the Houses of Parliament. Copies of the same can be obtained from the Secretary and Legal Adviser, Civil Aviation Authority, CAA House, 45-59 Kingsway, London WC2B 6TE.