7 February 2020
Thousands of pilots could be affected when a CAA exemption which allows UK pilots to fly EASA aircraft in the UK with a self-declared Pilot Medical Declaration (PMD) expires on 8 April.
So far, the official line from the CAA is: “We are working with the government to see if there is a way forward to enable pilots to continue to fly EASA aircraft using the self-declaration process.”
As many as 8,560 pilots are believed to have made a PMD. If the CAA is unable to extend the exemption, they could all be queuing for a Class 2 medical, applying for a LAPL – or grounded.
The exemption may be complicated by the UK leaving the EU and thus no longer being represented on the EASA committee. The UK’s future position with EASA has not yet been decided though FLYER has heard that, “Between end Jan and end Dec 2020 (the transition period), the UK will continue to apply the EU aviation acquis* in the UK, ie in terms of regulations, certificates, approvals etc – nothing will change.”
If that’s the case, then the UK government may decide not to extend the exemption as it is outside the current EASA regulations. The current exemption, ORS Series 4/1283 can be found here.
*acquis: Accumulated legislation, legal acts, court decisions etc that form EU law.
Some advice for pilots who may find themselves in this position can be found here: https://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=1745379#p1745379
FLYER will be following this story and will report online when and if there are further developments.
6 comments
I did my medical declaration online with CAA in late October 2019 but have never received any confirmation from them that this is valid. Is this normal?
It’s a declaration, not an application.
No confirmation or approval is therefore required although a confirmation email receipt is normally sent.
I did mine last weekend, got an immediate message confirming my application, but nothing further. This is different to what happened three years ago, after my first application. The phone number on the form does not work. I sent an email to ask if there was more coming, but no reply. My insurance company says its OK to fly having made the declaration.
Why self-declared Pilot Medical Declaration (PMD)…? According to my Knowledge is necessary to have Med Class I EASA renowal every year till 40 and each six months after 40 with total check every 5 year !
PMD valid in UK only.
Normal class 1/class2/LAPL/ICAO medical requirements apply in rest of Europe and/or worldwide.
I very much doubt that any pilot requiring a Class 1 medical (e.g airline pilots) would ever be allowed to submit a PMD, temporary or otherwise!
Best not to give the authorities ideas or almost the entire GA fleet in the U.K. and its respective pilot community would be grounded!
Did April 1st arrive early?