6 September 2021
+VIDEO The UK is launching an aviation alliance with four other English-speaking non-EASA countries – the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, told FLYER about the new National Aviation Association (NAA) at the weekend’s LAA Rally in an exclusive interview.
Mr Shapps said in answer to a question from FLYER’s Ian Seager about UK pilots flying on an FAA licence, “We’ve set up a National Aviation Association which is essential a ‘Five Eyes’* organisation. At the moment [that’s] America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
“Now that we’re out of EASA, alongwith those other non-EASA countries, we’re going to work on things that are of mutual benefit which might include licence recognition., technical standards and the like.
“The UK is chair of that [NAA] for its first couple of years.”
More details of the new NAA are expected this week when the DfT releases more information.
Watch the relevant excerpt from our interview here:
*Five Eyes (FVEY) is an alliance of five countries, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK sharing intelligence. Its origins date back to secret meetings held during WWII.
2 comments
This is a welcome decision as all licenses should be recognized!
All that should have be done IF required, is airlaw in the country that the equivalent licence is sort, a general exam of 100 questions covering the 14 subjects and a skills test.
It’s a shame I am coming to the end of my career as this ruling would have been something I would liked to have had 40 years ago!
Blue skies always
Regarding pilot licencing, the mutual recognition has been there for decades. It’s called an ICAO licence. Any country has the authority to validate any ICAO licence, including ratings, from another country without additional requirements. (In my experience, the FAA has been quite good at implementing this for my PPL(A).
More interesting is probably the technical standards. If this process materializes, we could end up tranferring all our aircraft to the N register and maintain and operate them under FAA regulations. An additional benefit might be a substantial reduction in workload at the UK CAA.
Though this could make it more complicated to cross the English Channel for a lunch at Le Touquet. On the other hand, a daytrip to Goose Bay or Long Island might become no less burdensome than flying across the Solent to the Isle of Wight. Exciting times!