Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the remit of the Airfield Advisory Team within the Department for Transport; how many staff work as part of that team; and what budget has been allocated to their work.

The Airfield Advisory Team (AAT) are a team within the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and were set up to provide independent non-regulatory advice and support to General Aviation airfields on a range of matters affecting their operations. The team is currently comprised of 2 personnel.

The annual budget for the AAT in Financial Year 21/22 is £375,000. This funding is made available by the DfT under sections 12 and 16 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, which permits the department to provide the CAA funding for specific activities.

GA Airfields are the critical infrastructure which supports all aviation activity in the UK by developing a skilled workforce, the safety processes to support the entire industry, and can offer the potential as a test bed for new technology before its adoption by the commercial sector.

The GA sector including its airfields contributes around £4bn to the economy and supports around 40,000 jobs, most of which are STEM roles.