Peter wrote:
The TA2000 thing is a mystery, and knowing “why” might hold the key to getting rid of the 12h
It was a recommendation that the CTA GAR be abolished by the Red Tape challenge (seemingly so many years ago now). Apparently the answer from Special Branch was “we need to keep it so we can build up patterns of travel”, but if it’s only needed for that, then there’s no need for a 12 hour advance notice period – or even notification before the flight, so long as it’s notified within a reasonable time of the flight then surely it still serves its purpose to “build up patterns of travel”.
It’s the old regulatory ratchet at work again: once a regulation is in place it is almost impossible to get it relaxed or removed because civil servants are fearful of being blamed should something happen (even if it would have happened anyway) because they relaxed a rule.
Applying the rule of strict construction to the relevant criminal statutes in the jurisdictions which are parties to the CTA, one would search in vain for any requirement to provide passenger information or flight times in advance of an intra-CTA private GA flight.
It is often convenient to add this non-statutory information when giving notice of proposed flight(s) but for reasons of practicality and safety, it is at best a non-binding estimate of the commander’s intentions.
I have never been met on departure out of the UK. Only arrivals into the UK (and they vary from 100% to 0% according to the sunspot activity).
But then I have always complied with the PN… what might draw attention is a late filing of the GAR but IMHO, IME, they don’t care about departures from the UK.
The TA2000 thing is a mystery, and knowing “why” might hold the key to getting rid of the 12hr PN. AFAICS it is just the police hanging onto a job support scheme. Problem is, no use telling this to whoever reads the consultation. One would need to start at some political level above that.
It’s tricky because the GAR system is a fantastic thing, making every UK runway an international airport. If it was abolished it would really bugger us up. Well, French police have already done that from their end 
So probably not a great idea to say that each meet costs the taxpayer around £2000 (total cost of two officers including office and vehicle overheads).
It should really be just 2hrs.
Pirho wrote:
If I am running 6 hours late, I have no way to ammend my GAR and the emergency phone number is not for TA2000 purposes, so there is no way to notify
This is a very significant issue, as 12 hours in advance you can’t necessarily accurately predict a VFR departure time. I’m certain it’s lead to at least one fatal crash a few years ago (a Jodel from Andreas to Kilkeel in NI, IIRC, where he launched with unsuitable weather, no doubt feeling pressure to leave at the time on the GAR form).
Personally I just put my best guess and call it good so long as I depart on the same day as on the form. If I have to divert, I divert and give no regard to the GAR (a couple of years ago while going to Kilkeel, someone crashed a microlight on the runway and we didn’t know how long Kilkeel would be closed for so we diverted to Aughrim and had a cup of tea in the club house and waited for Kilkeel to reopen, we never left the airside).
I make the best effort for the CTA GAR, but they have to understand unless they reduce the notice period to something reasonable, then the form is just my best intentions and weather/operational problems might cause a last minute change.
It is the Terrorism Act 2000 part for flights between NI and GB that has the greatest effect on me. I have the same thoughts as most others on here in that it is nonsense.
This is made even more so by the guidance being contradictory in various places, ie.
“The existing requirement under Paragraph 12 of Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 200010
provides that GA pilots must provide 12 hours’ notice in writing to a police constable of an
intention to arrive at or depart from a non-designated airfield in the UK [….] The proposed regulations will not amend this requirement”
Here it references giving notice if you intened to depart OR arrive at a non designated airfield. However when the guidance was updated (in 2022 I believe), it now says:
You must also notify the police
If the departure airport does not have a police designation you are required to notify the police at least 12 hours prior to departure:
Which says it is only the departure airfield that matters. I have been following the guidance as per this since it changed and noone has had any issue with it.
This is not even to get started on the fact that there are arguements about whether passenger details are needed or not, what tolerences there are for times (If I am running 6 hours late, I have no way to ammend my GAR and the emergency phone number is not for TA2000 purposes, so there is no way to notify).
In my response to the consultation I have suggested it is scrapped altogether, or at very worst the notice period is brought down to something like 2 hours.
This consultation closes today so get your response in quick
Since very little is changing, probably the most productive thing is to protest the 12hr PN for the CTA, for which there is no possible logical purpose.
The changes seem to be limited to obvious admin ones related to brexit e.g. the 4/24hr for EU/non-EU is now a uniform 2hr PN, with a subtle change that the PN for arriving in the UK is 2hrs before the foreign departure, so you don’t get the benefit of the flight time. But this is nothing new and the consultation isn’t about that.
Capitaine wrote:
10% estimate for GAR non-compliance is pretty staggering too.
If they count all the cases where the GAR was sent properly and legally (e.g. to the NCU), but the local Border Force office(r) didn’t get it, as “non-compliance” then I would have expected far more…
My reading is the same as Alioth. They specifically say that they aren’t changing the 12 hour requirement!
I think that the principal change is that previously passenger info was voluntarily given, now it will be mandatory with a big fine for failing to give it.
If they made that mistake, they are truly stupid.
In that case, what actually changes?
Peter wrote:
The 2hr PN replacing the 12hr PN (except for mainland UK – N Ireland which remains at 12hrs) is a big improvement.
Unfortunately they aren’t doing that, they say “The existing requirement under Paragraph 12 of Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 200010
provides that GA pilots must provide 12 hours’ notice in writing to a police constable of an
intention to arrive at or depart from a non-designated airfield in the UK [….] The proposed regulations will not amend this requirement” so as I read it, they are keeping the 12 hour PNR (and I suspect they forgot that the Terrorism Act 12 hour requirement also applies to the Channel Islands, Eire, and Isle of Man).
