The Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel from China) (England) Regulations 2023

PART 3 Requirement for operators to implement and maintain processes and systems

Requirement to implement and maintain processes and systems

6.—(1) An operator who operates a commercial flight on which a relevant arrival arrives in England must implement and maintain adequate processes and systems to ensure each relevant arrival on the commercial flight is, when they arrive in England, in possession of the notification required by regulation 3.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), a person is not to be treated as a relevant arrival if the operator, or a person acting on behalf of the operator, reasonably believes—

(a) the person is not a relevant arrival;

(b) the person has a reasonable excuse which would protect them from liability under regulation 8(1) for failing to comply with a requirement in regulation 3;

(c) the person is being lawfully compelled to travel to the United Kingdom in the course of an extradition, prisoner transfer or deportation.

(3) In this regulation, “relevant arrival” means a person to whom Part 2 applies.

Requirement to retain and provide records and information

7.—(1) An operator to whom regulation 6(1) applies must, unless it has a reasonable excuse, retain such records and information as are required to show that it has complied with that regulation.

(2) The Civil Aviation Authority may request from an operator copies of such records and information as the Civil Aviation Authority considers are required to determine whether the operator has complied with regulation 6(1).

(3) A request under paragraph (2) must specify the period within which the operator must provide the records and information requested.

(4) An operator must, unless it has a reasonable excuse, comply with a request under paragraph (2) within the period specified under paragraph (3).

(5) In determining whether an operator has complied with regulation 6(1), the Civil Aviation Authority must have regard to the following matters so far as the Civil Aviation Authority has information about them—

(a) the regime by which the operator checks that persons to whom Part 2 applies are in possession of the notification required by regulation 3, together with the approach to retaining contemporaneous evidence obtained as a result of such checks;

(b) the information the operator has collected about persons to whom Part 2 applies who have not complied with regulation 3;

(c) the existence and quality of any guidance or training programmes for those involved in the day-to-day operation of the processes and systems;

(d) whether the operator has—

(i) appointed a named contact to assist the Civil Aviation Authority in determining whether the operator has complied with regulation 6(1), and

(ii) notified the Civil Aviation Authority of the identity of that contact;

(e) the speed and effectiveness of any response the operator makes to any recommendations made by the Civil Aviation Authority intended to secure the operator’s compliance with regulation 6(1);

(f) any failure to comply with a request under paragraph (2);

(g) any other matter the Civil Aviation Authority considers appropriate.