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Ban on personal imports of meat and dairy products extended to cover all EU countries |
The Government has taken measures to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease (FMD) following a rising number of cases across Europe.
From Saturday 12th April 2025, travellers will no longer be able to bring cattle, sheep, goat, and pig meat, as well as dairy products, from EU countries into Great Britain for personal use, to protect the health of British livestock, the security of farmers, and the UK’s food security.
This includes bringing items like sandwiches, cheese, cured meats, raw meats or milk into Great Britain – regardless of whether it is packed or packaged or whether it has been bought at duty free.
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ETA Travel Requirement for eligible European visitors to the UK from 2nd April 2025 |
Following the opening of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme to eligible Europeans on 5th March, from the 2nd April they will now need an ETA to travel to the UK.
This means that all non-visa national visitors who do not need a visa will need an ETA. More information about eligibility and when individual nationalities will need an ETA is available at GOV.UK.
Eligible visitors should apply for their ETA through the UK ETA app, which is quick and simple to use and enables most applicants to receive a decision within hours. For more information see: Apply for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA).
Please note: as you are aware, during the current pre-enforcement period, visitors from countries whose citizens currently do not require a visa for short-term visits will still be permitted to travel to the UK even if they do not hold an ETA and must not be refused carriage on this basis. You will not be liable for a penalty charge related to ETA checks (permission to travel), and passengers will not be refused at the border solely for failure to hold an ETA.
People who require a visa to visit the UK will continue to do so and should not obtain an ETA. Those who are exempt from immigration control will not require an ETA.
The introduction of the UK ETA is a significant change for many travellers who previously did not need to interact with the Home Office prior to travelling. The UK Government continues to work closely with the travel industry, international businesses, short-term education providers and other organisations that attract visitors to the UK, to ensure visitors understand the steps they need to take before they travel to the UK.
Please refer to the sGAR Knowledge Hub for more information.
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Home Office Letter: Crew Requirements in the General Aviation Sector – February 2025 |
You may have received a recent communication regarding the implementation of Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs). This was intended for carriers in the scheduled aviation industry and so may have caused a degree of confusion for GA carriers and operators.
This communication is to clarify and confirm the following points in case of any such confusion.
British and Irish citizens do not need to apply for any additional permission to travel to the UK and should continue to travel using their valid British or Irish passports.
Crew employed or engaged to bring aircraft, passengers, or cargo to the UK and who are operating into and out of the UK as crew do not require an ETA as they are exempt from the requirement to obtain leave to enter. This only applies where crew members are departing from the UK within 7 days.
Crew members are defined as ’all people who are employed in the working or service of an aircraft, including the captain’. This does not include ground crew or security guards.
Non-visa nationals intending to visit the UK and who are not employed or engaged to bring aircraft, passengers, or cargo to the UK will require an ETA.
Visa nationals will continue to require a visit visa.
More information about ETAs, including which nationalities currently require an ETA, can be found here: Apply for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) – GOV.UK.
You can find out if you require an ETA or visa here: Check if you need a UK visa – GOV.UK.
I hope this helps to clarify the position with respect to General Aviation and permission to travel requirements.
If you have any queries, please contact our team:
Kind regards,
Carrier Integration Team
Future Border & Immigration System (FBIS) Programme
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Channel Islands General Aviation Exemptions |
The Director of Civil Aviation for the Channel Islands is publishing a list of current General Aviation Exemptions for both Jersey and Guernsey. They replace the General Exemptions written into previous Aviation Journals which did not provide a single list of in force documents. Both the Guernsey and Jersey versions are now on the DCA website -
News - Director of Civil Aviation
The current exemptions for the UK PMD and IR(R)/IMCr are retained.
The DCA is keen to ensure that local AOPA members are aware and have an opportunity to comment should they wish to highlight other General Exemptions that they may be using that are not shown by contacting:
Please note these lists only show General Exemptions, and are quite separate to individual Exemptions issued to individuals or organisations which would be specific to that applicant and as such are confidential.
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UK Civil Aviation Authority approves Manchester Low-Level Route airspace change |
The MLLR will be replaced by the North West Transit Corridor, and reclassified as Class G airspace Restricted Area, to be known as EGR323 North West Transit Corridor, with specific restrictions starting 20 February 2025.
The new North West Transit Corridor will continue to provide crucial north-south routing for aircraft, enabling them to navigate efficiently between Manchester and Liverpool Airports’ adjoining Class D airspaces.
The changes, which aim to reduce the risk of mid-air collisions and improve airspace management, will take effect from 20 February 2025. This coincides with the expiration of the current exemption in this airspace, Official Record Series 4 (ORS4) No.1596.
The amendment includes:
- Reclassifying the current Class D MLLR airspace to Class G uncontrolled airspace.
- Implementing a Restricted Area within the reclassified airspace that will limit the speed and weight of the aircraft, as well as having visibility and QNH setting restrictions.
- A maximum altitude within the Class G airspace of 1500ft – 200ft higher than the previous MLLR permitted.
- Creating Class G airspace 0.65 nautical miles wider to the east than today’s MLLR boundary.
The regulator’s decision to reclassify this portion of airspace follows input from the general aviation community, air navigation service providers, and local airports as part of its function to review airspace classification.
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Submit a GAR - GA ETA Engagement Event Handout |
Further to the online event held on 23 October 2024 the Home Office Border Force have published the handout below.
They are currently working on an updated sGAR Information Pack which will be distributed in due course and contain all the relevant information regarding Universal Permission to Travel, ETA, eVisa’s and Carrier Support.
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Aircraft Maintenance ("N" Registered Aircraft): New FAA interpretation could devastate GA |
This is relevant to "N" Registered Aircraft owners/operators who undertake aircraft maintenance on their aircraft.
AOPA US are reporting that on September 3, FAA attorneys released a legal interpretation of 14 CFR §43.3(d), effectively changing the FAA’s view of the standard maintenance supervision model that has been in place for the past 60 years. Without industry intervention to have the FAA reconsider its new view, the A&P experience-based training and owner-assisted maintenance models cannot survive.
Although the regulations allow for uncertificated people to perform supervised maintenance, it is vitally important to point out that only the holder of a mechanic or repairman certificate may approve the work and return the aircraft or component to service. This is the catch-all that ensures safety in our industry. Only the supervising mechanic can make the logbook entry, and it is that individual’s certificate and liability on the line. Therefore, it is in the supervising mechanic’s interest to inspect the work and verify that everything was done properly and is truly airworthy before attesting to it in writing.
The Moss interpretation
FAA regulations under 14 CFR are the rules that those who operate under FAA jurisdiction must follow, or risk facing violation or prosecution. However, in cases where a particular regulation may be ambiguous, a request for interpretation may be made to the FAA chief counsel. The response, in the form of a letter or memo, becomes the agency’s legal position that FAA staff will follow. This means that enforcement actions against individuals and businesses will be based on both the text in applicable regulations, and any relevant legal opinions or interpretations made by FAA attorneys.
The Moss interpretation began on July 8, 2022, when Jonathan Moss, manager of the Little Rock Flight Standards District Office, requested an interpretation of 14 CFR §43.3(d), essentially asking if a supervisor must be physically present at the site of the maintenance, or if he may supervise remotely, through Zoom, FaceTime, live feed TV, photographs, downloadable video, or other electronic means.
It took over two years for the FAA to respond with an interpretation, and as is often the risk with asking for an interpretation, the response went much further than a yes/no answer to the question being asked. Included in the three-page Moss interpretation were two essential elements.
The first addressed the concept of remote, video supervision:
The Office of the Chief Counsel finds that the phrase “in person” explicitly requires physical presence. Virtual presence, through a live video feed or other technological means, cannot replace the physical presence of a supervising mechanic.
The second addressed the concept of supervision itself:
The phrase “readily available, in person, for consultation” contemplates a physical, hands-on approach to supervision. The certificated mechanic must be available, not just to answer questions, but to notice mistakes and take over if necessary.
The problem with the Moss interpretation
There are two issues with the Moss interpretation:
The first issue is concerning, but not necessarily devastating. The FAA Office of the Chief Counsel found that virtual technologies cannot be used in lieu of in-person supervision. This is surprising in a world where medicine—even surgery—is sometimes performed using remote technologies and, it should be pointed out, much of the FAA’s own supervisory work with the industry is done remotely.
The second part of the interpretation is what could have devastating repercussions for general aviation. "The certificated mechanic must be available, not just to answer questions, but to notice mistakes and take over if necessary,” as the new FAA interpretation states, completely discounts the concept of supervisor discretion and, in fact, does not acknowledge the text in 14 CFR §43.3(d) that specifically says “to the extent necessary to ensure that it is being done properly.”
As soon as the Moss Interpretation was published, it became “the official view of the FAA” that will be enforced.
AOPA USA is putting AOPA’s resources into action.
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Universal Permission to Travel Systems |
This information is pertinent to Pilots who are carrying non-British passport holders on flights to/from the UK and are completing an online General Aviation Report (GAR).
From September 2024, some visa national passengers will hold digital-only eVisas. These passengers will no longer have physical immigration documents for you to check.
If a ‘Valid Permission to Travel Found’ response is received via the Submit a General Aviation Report (sGAR) web service, please note that pilots, operators and agents are not required to make further checks for a visa or other immigration document. You will not be subject to any carriers’ liability in relation to that passenger’s permission to travel.
If a ‘Authority to Carry Granted’ response is received, for visa national passengers you should conduct a manual check by:
- checking for a valid, physical visa or other immigration document
and/or
- using a Sharecode, which passengers with digital immigration products can request from their UKVI (UK Visa and Immigration) account.
Please refer to the following link for more details about using Sharecode to check a digital-only product: https://www.gov.uk/check-immigration-status.
In all cases, you should continue to check that the passport or travel document held by the passenger is valid, genuine and in the possession of the rightful holder.
In addition, the Home Office are consolidating multiple contact points within the Home Office to a single point of contact: the new UK Border Force Carrier Support Hub.
This will be a 24/7 support function to answer all carrier queries related to a passenger’s permission to travel to the UK; security related queries, or technical support for submitting data to the Home Office. The Carrier Support Hub will go live on the 30th September 2024 at 10:00am (UTC).
You can contact the hub on the following telephone number: +44 300 369 0610 after the go-live date.
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Use of Unleaded Aviation Gasoline in Spark Ignition Engines originally designed for Leaded Fuels |
The CAA are reminding the GA community that two CS-STAN (Standard Change) are already available which enable suitable aircraft to utilise unleaded aviation gasoline.
CS-SC202c and CS-SC203c can be used in conjunction with approvals from both airframe and engine manufacturers to utilise certain unleaded fuels and update manuals and placards as required.
AOPA have created a database of airframe and engine data to help owners to understand if their aircraft could be eligible (note this is for guidance only).
The CAA will be publishing a webpage with further guidance on General Aviation fuels in the coming weeks to help the community navigate the differences between similar fuels.
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General Aviation Licensing Review: Phase 2 consultation responses published |
The CAA have published their consultation response documents for the General Aviation Licensing Review Phase 2 consultation. A summary of the responses received, the decisions made, and next steps can be found in the relevant consultation response document and on the consultation page:
aeroplanes including microlights and consultation page
balloons and airships and consultation page
sailplanes and consultation page
helicopters and consultation page
gyroplanes and consultation page
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SD-2024/001: Active Carbon Monoxide Detectors in Piston Engine Aircraft Operations |
The CAA have published Safety Directive SD-2024/001 which requires a functioning active CO detector capable of alerting via aural and/or visual warnings to be present in affected piston engine aircraft when operating with passengers on board who do not hold a recognised pilot qualification.
This SD is applicable to all piston engine aircraft, but excludes:
a) Single-seat aircraft;
b) Aircraft with an open cockpit/cabin;
c) Aircraft performing aerobatic manoeuvres (see paragraph 7(a) of the OD), unless as part of a Safety Standards Acknowledgement and Consent (SSAC) operation (see paragraph 7(b) of the OD);
d) Aircraft with piston engines located above/behind the cabin (e.g. helicopters, gyroplanes) unless cabin heat is also provided via an exhaust heat exchanger or a combustion heater; or
e) Aircraft with only wing-mounted piston engines.
Installing or carrying an active CO detector on board does not require CAA approval. Active CO detectors can be permanently installed in UK Part 21 and UK non-Part 21 aircraft as a ‘standard change’ under the provisions of CS-STAN (Standard Change CS-SC107a) without any CAA involvement. Portable CO detectors can also be carried on board without any airworthiness approval. Regardless of which active CO detector is selected, pilots should ensure the device is functional, audible (and visible if equipped with a digital screen) and securely positioned in the aircraft before each flight.