The CAA is changing the way that they show current government legislation online. Traditionally, the CAA would 'wrap' the legislation into a 'Civil Air Publication' or 'CAP' with a designated number. For example, the Air Navigation Order 2016 was for a long time referred to as the CAP 393. This then changed in 2021 to the CAP 2038A00. Now, neither of these CAPS exist. So where do I find the legislation and how do I know what is current? And lastly, what do I now reference in my Operations Manual?
Let us break it down for you.
Where can I find the Air Navigation Order 2016 and other legislation?
The CAA now has a section on their website where you can find all current Regulations for Aviation Law in the UK. The home link is here >>> https://www.caa.co.uk/uk-regulations/
The Air Navigation Order 2016 and regulations made under it can be found here >>> https://www.caa.co.uk/uk-regulations/aviation-safety/civil-aviation-act-1982-the-ano-2016-the-rules-of-the-air-2015-and-the-dg-regulations-2002/the-civil-aviation-air-navigation-order-2016/
You will see from the dropdown in the screenshot below (See Fig.1) that clicking the link will open a PDF which contains the Air Navigation Order 2016/765, but not only that, the PDF contains any amendments that have been made and on what date the amendment was made (See Fig.2). This date is crucial to note and will be required for the Operations Manual reference table.
Fig.1
Fig. 2
Since there are no CAPs, what do I reference in my Operations Manual?
For the Air Navigation Order 2016, because there is no longer a CAP 2038A00, you will need to change the reference table so it contains a link that goes directly to the legislation. If your next question is how do I know what version it is, well, there are no versions anymore, just the date it was amended.
Take a look at Fig.3 for an example of the new requirements.
You will notice that some of the links in the image contain 'Tiny URL' links, these link directly to the necessary page without having a very long hyperlink.
When the CAA look at your Operations Manual, they will check each link to make sure it points to the right place and secondly, they will check that the date is correct (the latest amendment).
Fig.3
What about the CAP 722?
The CAP 722 (for now at least) is still here to stay as a CAP. You will still need to show what the current version number is and the current date of the CAP. For ease of use, you might also want to include the link to the CAP 722 (See Fig.3).
Summary
This is a major shift and change for people who need to maintain their Operations Manual, and, when you think about it, actually makes sense. We are now referencing the actual legislation which contains any amendments that have been made to it (rather than referencing multiple CAPs which contained the original and then another containing the amendment).
Now if you want to check if there are any new regulations that have been amended, specifically our primary ones (The Air Navigation Order 2016 and the UK UAS Implementing Regulation) then you only have one place to look rather than working out which CAP supersedes which!
Don't forget, we have our fantastic HUBSub service where you can offload the maintenance of your Operations Manual to our team for a small monthly subscription. Get it updated at ANY time and we'll do the hard work for you. Want a new Aircraft added? No Problem! Just let us know and we'll do a full update whilst we are at it.
