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Is EASA LAPL valid for anything in the UK?

Excluding any temporary post-Brexit transitional arrangements, am I right in thinking that an EU resident may not use an EASA LAPL to fly in the UK, at all, irrespective of registration? This is not an ICAO-compliant licence. Doing a search here does not seem to unearth an answer.

Bluebeard
EIKH, Ireland

Indeed. There is nothing to be found on the subject because there is no arrangement there for this case.

The only “tie” left between the UK and EASA-land nowadays is ICAO, i.e. the obligation of country A to allow pilots to fly within country A with their aircraft registered in B, as long as the pilot holds a valid ICAO-compliant pilot license.
As an EASA-LAPL is not ICAO-compliant, it is not valid for flying in the UK.
Therefore the only solution to this would be if the UK resolved to recognize EASA-LAPLs for flying in the UK, which has not happened so far. May well happen in the future though, possibly as a reciprocal agreement with EASA.

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

That’s correct, after the current limited period.

Same the other way round – the UK LAPL is almost worthless, except for the non-CPL-theory FI route.

Yes; I am sure mutual recognition is being discussed, and that (minimising provocation to EASA) IMHO has to be the reason why the UK has done nothing to rationalise its historical mess of papers.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Hmmm. So then an Irish resident EASA LAPL holder cannot, in practical effect, fly outside Irish airspace as doing so inevitably involves overflying though London or Scottish FIRs. Marooned! Enforcement is another matter.

Bluebeard
EIKH, Ireland

In lawyer (which I am not in meatspace) enthusiast mode, I wonder whether flying in the London FIR over international waters would be allowed.

ELLX

Depending on wind as to where your engine failure gliding options sits

Last Edited by Ibra at 11 May 14:04
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

12 mile limit thread.

This is one of those weird things like whether the UK IMC Rating is valid when flying to the Channel Islands (it is valid there) because the airspace is handed over to France during the night, or something like that.

Isn’t there a straight conversion from EASA LAPL to UK LAPL in the UK? Or EASA LAPL to UK NPPL (I mean getting the NPPL issued on the back of the EASA LAPL, so you still have the EASA LAPL afterwards) given that the UK LAPL is identical to the UK NPPL in every respect (except that the LAPL may offer a conversion route one day, under some treaty, whereas the NPPL definitely never will).

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

If my medical status were ever to be downgraded I wouldn’t like to be unable to fly to the UK for practical purposes, this would be very inconvenient. So maybe I should get some basic UK licence as a backstop. Up to end-2022 I understand I can get my former UK-issued EASA PPL reissued (then three annual medicals!). Thereafter I could get it downgraded to UK LAPL or NPPL or whatever allows self-declaration. Just in case.

Bluebeard
EIKH, Ireland

What would be the medical circumstances where you could fly on an LAPL and not on a PPL?

We do have some AMEs here e.g. @afsag @justin and some others who I know are no longer working.

I believe the circumstances are actually very narrow. What happens much more often is that somebody gets a “health issue” and instead of fixing it (which may not be cheap) they chuck away their medical, somehow believing that they will now be ok…

What if you lost your medical

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

What would be the medical circumstances where you could fly on an LAPL and not on a PPL?

I have no idea of specifics. The transit from Class 2 to something less rigorous.

Bluebeard
EIKH, Ireland
17 Posts
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