Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how the proposed charging powers in the Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill would operate alongside the United Kingdom’s existing obligations under Eurocontrol, including in relation to cost bases, unit rates, and exemptions; and what domestic arrangements would be required to levy and collect any new charges.

The UK is a party to the Eurocontrol Multilateral Agreement relating to Route Charges, which applies specifically to charges for en-route air navigation services in the three UK flight information regions. This requires the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to follow certain common policies and apply an internationally consistent approach when specifying charges for the relevant services. These obligations do not prevent the creation of distinct domestic charges, including for other air traffic services covered by the Transport Act 2000, as exemplified by the recently created Airspace Design Charge. The Civil Aviation Bill does not in itself create any new charges, and any future charges set by the CAA will need to take full account of the applicable domestic and international frameworks, as is the case today.