Aviation safety
after the UK
leaves EASA
September 2020
CAP1714
Introduction
The UK will leave the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) system on 31 December 2020 when the UK-EU
‘transition period’ ends.
This will mean that mutual recognition of safety certificates and licences between the UK and European
systems comes to an end on 31 December unless an agreement on aviation safety regulation is
negotiated by then.
While negotiations continue,
this document is a short
summary of the conditions that
an absence of agreement would
create and what the CAA and
UK Government have put in
place to maximise stability for
passengers and the aviation and
aerospace sectors. Each business
and individual potentially
affected by the changes should
consider the implications for
themselves and take actions
accordingly.
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The latest detail is always available at our microsite https://info.caa.co.uk/brexit/
What happens when the UK stops participating in EASA systems on 31
December 2020?
Aviation is a worldwide industry
globally regulated by the
International Civil Aviation
Organisation, ICAO. The CAA
and the UK Government will
remain committed to
maintaining ICAO’s global safety
standards.
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Though the existing EASA regulatory framework will cease to apply, all
current substantive EU requirements will be retained in UK domestic
regulation.
All EASA certificates, approvals and licences in effect on 31 December
2020 for use in the UK aviation system and on UK-registered aircraft will
be recognised by the CAA for up to two years.
This will provide stability for passengers and businesses while ensuring UK
aviation remains as safe as ever.
Impact for UK commercial pilots
For most commercial pilots with
UK-issued licences, there will be
little impact.
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ICAO’s global aviation rules mean
that UK-issued pilot licences will
be valid for use on UK-registered
aircraft.
Pilots with UK licences wanting
to fly EU-registered aircraft need
to transfer their licence to
another EASA member state by
31 December 2020, or
subsequently seek a second
licence from an EASA state.
Impact for commercial pilots with licences issued by other EASA states
Pilots currently holding a commercial licence from
another EASA member state will need to seek a
validation from the CAA to operate UK-registered
aircraft outside the UK.
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The CAA has developed processes to make this as
seamless as possible. A downloadable validation
document will be made available on the CAA’s
website in late December.
Impact for UK-licensed aircraft maintenance engineers
Engineers maintaining aircraft
are licensed by the CAA. UKregistered engineers will be able
to continue to maintain UKregistered aircraft, but not
EU-registered aircraft.
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Engineers wanting to work on
EU-registered aircraft will need
to transfer their licence to
another EASA member state by
31 December 2020.
The CAA will allow engineers
with licences issued by other
EASA member states and valid on
31 December 2020 to maintain
UK-registered aircraft for up to
two years.
Impact for cabin crew approvals (attestations)
Cabin crew are approved (or
“attested”) by their airline
against common standards. UKissued cabin crew attestations
on UK- registered aircraft will
remain valid.
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EASA-issued cabin crew
attestations valid on 31
December 2020 will be
recognised by the CAA for
working on UK-registered aircraft
for up to two years. After that,
operators of UK-registered
aircraft would need to issue crew
currently holding EASA
attestations with UK ones.
UK-issued cabin crew attestations
may cease to be valid for EUregistered aircraft after 31
December 2020. Operators of EUregistered aircraft will need to
ensure that they issue EASA
attestations to any crew currently
holding UK-issued attestations.
Impact for aerospace design organisations
EASA currently directly approves
organisations that design aircraft
and aircraft components.
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The CAA will recognise the
validity of existing UK
companies with design
approvals issued by EASA and
valid on 31 December 2020.
The CAA will continue to
recognise EU member state
design organisations for up to
two years after that date.
Existing UK holders of EASA
design approvals will not be
recognised by EASA states
unless any UK-EU aviation
safety agreement made before
31 December allows for it.
Design organisations will need
to consider other steps,
including applying for UK
approval or applying for an EASA
third country approval.
Impact for production of aircraft components and parts
Approvals are given to
organisations who produce
aircraft components.
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The UK will recognise the validity
of existing approvals held by UK
and EU-registered businesses for
components they produce for
UK-registered aircraft, including
those already fitted to aircraft,
those manufactured but not yet
fitted and those manufactured in
the future.
The EU has yet to indicate whether after 31
December it will recognise the validity of
components already on EU aircraft. UKregistered production organisations will need
an EASA third country approval to produce
components for use on EU-registered aircraft
after that date, though conditions might
change if a UK-EU agreement on aviation
safety is reached before that date.
Impact for aircraft maintenance
There are a range of
organisations that have
approvals from the CAA to
maintain aircraft, oversee their
maintenance and train
engineers.
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For UK organisations, approvals
will continue as they do today in
supporting UK-registered
aircraft, as they are UK CAA
approvals.
Organisations approved by an EU
member state will be recognised
by the CAA for up to two years
after 31 December 2020.
UK-registered maintenance
organisations will need an EASA
third country approval to be able
to maintain EU-registered aircraft
after 31 December 2020, though
conditions might change if a UKEU agreement on aviation safety
is reached before that date.
Impact on airline safety operational approvals
After 31 December 2020, UK
and EU-registered airlines will
need ‘third country operator’
approvals from EASA and the
UK respectively.
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EU-registered airlines operating in the
UK will need a third country or foreign
carrier approval to operate into the
UK. The systems and processes to
complete these applications are
already in place in the UK:
https:/ / www.caa.co.uk/ Commercialindustry/Airlines/ Licensing/ Requireme
nts-and-guidance/ Third-CountryOperator-Certificates/
UK airlines will need to seek third
country operator approval to
operate in Europe. EASA has set
up an application process:
https:/ / www.easa.europa.eu/ bre
xit-early-applications#TCO
Impact beyond the EU
The CAA and DfT have worked with the USA, Canada, Brazil and Japan to ensure replacement bilateral
arrangements are in place after 31 December 2020. These arrangements facilitate the recognition of each other’s
safety certificates, and support both international trade and airline operations.
Similar agreements are not necessarily needed with other countries: membership of the global aviation regulator
ICAO provides a degree of confidence in respective safety regimes, and in some cases we agree specific working
arrangements with individual states. The CAA’s plans for regulation after 31 December 2020 have been shared
fully with ICAO.
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https:/ / info.caa.co.uk/ brexit/