Civil Aviation Act 1978 (repealed 8.11.1995)
There shall be established under the control and management of the Secretary of State a fund to be called the Aviation Security Fund (in the following provisions of this Act referred to as the Fund) out of which payments shall be made in accordance with subsection (2) below.
Any payment falling to be made by the Secretary of State under either of the following provisions, that is to say— shall, unless the Secretary of State certifies that the payment is of an exceptional nature, be defrayed out of the Fund instead of out of moneys provided by Parliament and any such payment defrayed out of the Fund may be made without the consent of the Treasury.
section 23 of the Protection of Aircraft Act 1973 (reimbursement of expenses incurred by aircraft operators, aerodrome managers and others for the purpose of protecting aircraft, aerodromes and air navigation installations against acts of violence);
section 7 of the Policing of Airports Act 1974 (reimbursement of expenses incurred by aerodrome authorities in or in connection with the policing of aerodromes),
The Secretary of State shall prepare accounts of the Fund in such form as the Treasury may direct and shall send them to the Comptroller and Auditor General not later than the end of the month of November following the end of the financial year to which the accounts relate; and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine and certify every such account and shall lay copies thereof, together with his report thereon, before Parliament.
Any money in the Fund which appears to the Secretary of State not to be immediately required for the purposes of the Fund may be deposited by him with the Bank of England or with any company that is a banking or discount company for the purposes of the Protection of Depositors Act 1963 ; and any interest received by the Secretary of State in respect of money so deposited shall be paid by him into the Fund.
There shall be paid out of the Fund into the Consolidated Fund sums equal to the amount of any expenses incurred by the Secretary of State in the management and control of the Aviation Security Fund.
The Secretary of State may make regulations containing such provisions as he considers appropriate for requiring aerodrome authorities to pay him, in respect of all aerodromes or of aerodromes of a prescribed class, contributions to the Fund calculated in accordance with the following provisions of this section.
Those contributions shall be payable in respect of prescribed periods and the contribution payable for any aerodrome in respect of each such period shall be one of the following amounts or, if it is so prescribed, the aggregate of those amounts, that is to say—
an amount ascertained by multiplying a prescribed sum by the number of passengers, or passengers of a prescribed description, who during that period arrived by air at or departed by air from that aerodrome or the number of such passengers in excess of a prescribed limit;
an amount ascertained by multiplying a prescribed sum by the total prescribed units of weight of each aircraft, or aircraft of a prescribed description, which during that period arrived at or departed from that aerodrome.
Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, regulations under this section may—
prescribe the time when any contribution is to be paid ;
charge interest at a rate prescribed with the consent of the Treasury on so much of any contribution as is overdue;
require aerodrome authorities, in relation to the aerodromes under their management, to furnish the Secretary of State with such information, to keep such records and to make such returns to him about the matters mentioned in subsection (2) above as may be prescribed ;
provide that contravention of any prescribed provision of the regulations (other than a failure to pay a contribution or interest on any overdue contribution) shall be an offence, either triable on indictment or summarily or triable only summarily, and punishable in each case with a fine, not exceeding in the case of a summary conviction, £1,000.
The Secretary of State shall pay into the Fund all money received by him by virtue of regulations made under this section.
Where an offence under regulations made under this section which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (5) above shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.
Subsection (3)(d) above shall have effect—
in its application to offences triable either way in England and Wales, as if for " £1,000 " there were substituted " the prescribed sum within the meaning of section 28 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 " (that is to say, £1,000 or another sum fixed by order under section 61 of that Act to take account of changes in the value of money);
in its application to offences triable on indictment or summarily in Scotland, as if for " £1,000 " there were substituted " the prescribed sum within the meaning of section 289B of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 " (that is to say, £1,000 or another sum fixed by an order under section 289D of that Act for that purpose).
In this section " prescribed ", except where the context otherwise requires, means prescribed by regulations made under this section, and—
regulations so made may make different provision for different cases ; and
the regulations first so made may, if not made before 1st April 1978, be retrospective to that date so that the first period prescribed for the purposes of subsection (2) above shall begin on or after that date.
Regulations shall not be made under this section unless a draft of the regulations has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
In this section—
" aerodrome " means an aerodrome within the meaning of the Protection of Aircraft Act 1973 ; and
" aerodrome authority " means, in relation to any aerodrome, the person (whether the British Airports Authority, the Civil Aviation Authority, a local authority or any other person) by whom the aerodrome is managed.
The Secretary of State may borrow temporarily by overdraft or otherwise such sums in sterling as he may require for the purposes of the Fund.
The Secretary of State shall pay into the Fund any sum borrowed under subsection (1) above ; and the Secretary of State shall make any repayment in respect of the principal of any such sum, and any payment in respect of interest thereon, out of the Fund.
The aggregate amount outstanding by way of principal in respect of sums borrowed by the Secretary of State under subsection (1) above shall not at any time exceed £5 million, or such larger sum, not exceeding £10 million, as the Secretary of State may by order made with the consent of the Treasury determine.
The Treasury may guarantee in such manner and on such conditions as they think fit the repayment of, and the payment of any interest on, any sums borrowed by the Secretary of State under subsection (1) above.
Immediately after any guarantee is given under subsection (4) above, the Treasury shall lay a statement of the guarantee before each House of Parliament.
Any sums required by the Treasury for fulfilling any guarantee given under subsection (4) above shall be charged on and paid out of the Consolidated Fund.
Where any sum is issued out of the Consolidated Fund under subsection (6) above, the Treasury shall, as soon as possible after the end of each financial year (beginning with that in which the sum is issued and ending with that in which all liability in respect of the principal of the sum and in respect of interest thereon is finally discharged) lay before each House of Parliament an account of that sum and of any payments made, during the financial year to which the account relates, by way of repayment of that sum or by way of interest thereon.
Any sum issued for fulfilling a guarantee given under subsection (4) above shall be repaid by the Secretary of State out of the Aviation Security Fund to the Treasury in such manner and over such period and with interest thereon at such rate as the Treasury may determine; and any sums received by the Treasury under this subsection shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
An order shall not be made under this section unless a draft of the order has been laid before the House of Commons and approved by a resolution of that House.
The Secretary of State may at any time by order provide for the winding up of the Fund and, on the completion of the winding up, for the return to each aerodrome authority by whom contributions have been made to the Fund of a share of the net assets standing to the credit of the Fund which bears the same proportion to those assets as the authority's contributions to the Fund in the last 12 months during which contributions were made to the Fund bear to the total contributions made by aerodrome authorities to the Fund during those 12 months.
On such day as is declared by the Secretary of State by order to be that on which the winding up was completed sections 1 and 2 above shall cease to have effect, without prejudice, however, to the duty of the Secretary of State and the Comptroller and Auditor General to comply with section 1(3) above; and accordingly as from that day section 23 of the Protection of Aircraft Act 1973 and section 7 of the Policing of Airports Act 1974 shall have effect as if this Act had not been passed.
An order under subsection (1) above shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
In section 8(5) of the 1971 Act (aggregate amount outstanding in respect of the initial debt of, and the principal of borrowings by, the Civil Aviation Authority not to exceed £75 million), for the words " £75 million " there shall be substituted the words " £125 million; but nothing in this subsection shall prevent the Authority from borrowing in excess of that amount for the purpose of paying oft the whole or part of the initial debt or any loan. ".
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Section 8 of the 1971 Act (borrowing powers of Civil Aviation Authority) shall be further amended as follows:—
in subsection (1) (power to borrow temporarily with the consent of, or in accordance with a general authorisation given by, the Secretary of State), for the words from " with the consent" onwards there shall be substituted the words borrow temporarily, by overdraft or otherwise, such sums in sterling as it may require for performing its functions—; and
in subsection (3) (power to borrow other than in sterling), for the words from " in sterling" onwards there shall be substituted the words in sterling—.
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in section 9(1) (1imit of £700 million on aggregate of loans to and government investment in the Board), after the words "£700 million" there shall be added the words " or such greater sum, not exceeding £850 million, as the Secretary of State may from time to time by order specify ";
in section 21(2) (orders of which a draft must be approved by resolution of each House of Parliament), at the end there shall be added the words " ; and no order shall be made under section 9(1) of this Act unless a draft of the order has been approved by a resolution of the House of Commons. ".
Each of the enactments specified in subsection (2) below shall have effect as if the power to make byelaws conferred by that enactment in relation to any aerodrome included power to make byelaws for controlling the operation of aircraft within or directly above the aerodrome for the purpose of limiting or mitigating the effect of noise, vibration and atmospheric pollution caused by aircraft using the aerodrome.
The said enactments are—
section 2 of the 1968 Act (byelaws made by the Secretary of State);
section 3 of that Act (byelaws made by local authorities);
section 4 of that Act (byelaws made by proprietors of certain private aerodromes);
section 31 of the 1971 Act (byelaws made by Civil Aviation Authority);
section 9 of the Airports Authority Act 1975 (byelaws made by British Airports Authority).
The maximum amount which may be specified by byelaws made by virtue of this section for any fine for contravention of the byelaws shall be £500 instead of £100 (as laid down by section 5 of the said Act of 1968 in the case of byelaws made under section 2, 3 or 4 of that Act and by the said sections 31 and 9 in the case of byelaws made under those sections respectively).
Where any person, other than the Secretary of State, has in relation to any aerodrome made any byelaw by virtue of this section, the Secretary of State may, after consultation with that person, by order—
revoke or vary that byelaw if he considers it appropriate to do so by reason of his having designated the aerodrome an aerodrome to which section 29 of the 1971 Act (regulation of noise and vibration from aircraft) applies; or
revoke or vary that byelaw to the extent that it appears to him to be inconsistent with the safety of persons or vehicles using the aerodrome, of aircraft or of the general public, or with any international obligation binding on the United Kingdom.
Without prejudice to any power of any aerodrome authority to enter into an agreement on such terms as it thinks fit, an aerodrome authority may, for the purpose of encouraging the use of quieter aircraft and of diminishing inconvenience from aircraft noise, fix its charges by reference, among other things, to any fact or matter relevant to—
the amount of noise caused by the aircraft in respect of which the charges are made ; or
the extent or nature of any inconvenience resulting from such noise.
Without prejudice to section 8(2)(o) of the Civil Aviation Act 1949 (power by Order in Council to regulate charges at licensed aerodromes), the Secretary of State may by order direct specified aerodrome authorities to fix their charges in exercise of the power conferred by subsection (1) above; and any such order may contain directions as to the manner in which those charges are to be so fixed.
An order under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
In this section—
" aerodrome " means an aerodrome licensed under an Order in Council made under section 8 of the Civil Aviation Act 1949;
" aerodrome authority " means, in relation to any aerodrome, the person owning or managing it; and
" charges " means, in relation to an aerodrome authority, the charges the authority makes for the use of an aerodrome owned or managed by it.
In section 4 of the 1971 Act (Secretary of State's power to give directions in national interest, etc.), after subsection (2) there shall be inserted the following subsection:—.
In section 21(5) of the 1971 Act (offence of contravening a term of air transport licence when operator of aircraft or charterer, etc., knew or had reasonable cause to suspect that the term was likely to be contravened)—
in paragraph (a), for the words " knew or had reason able cause to suspect" there shall be substituted the words " knew or ought to have known "; and
in paragraph (b), for the words " knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect" there shall be substituted the words " when he knew or ought to have known ".
Section 18 of the British Airways Board Act 1977 (pensions) shall cease to have effect and the following provisions of this section shall have effect instead.
The Board may pay pensions, allowances or gratuities to or in respect of such of the persons to whom this section applies as may be determined by the Board, or may make arrangements for the making of such payments.
Any such arrangements may provide for the establishment and maintenance of one or more schemes for making such payments and, until the contrary is provided by any such arrangements, the scheme in force under section 18 of the British Airways Board Act 1977 immediately before the appointed day (the existing scheme) shall be treated as having been established in pursuance of arrangements under this section and may be maintained accordingly.
The persons to whom this section applies are—
employees or former employees of any member of the group; and
persons to whom the existing scheme applied immediately before the appointed day.
Where a participant in a scheme maintained under this section— his service as such a member or director (including any service at any time before the appointed day) shall be treated for the purposes of the scheme as if it were service as an employee of the person in whose employment he was, or was treated for those purposes as being, when he became such a member or director.
becomes, or has before that day become, a member of the Board or a director of any other member of the group; or
has at any time before 1st April 1974 become a member of either of the corporations or a director of an undertaking which was a subsidiary or joint subsidiary of either of the corporations at the time when he became a director of it,
In this section—
" joint subsidiary " have the same meanings as they had in Part III of the 1971 Act; and other expressions have the same meanings as in the British Airways Board Act 1977.
Any power conferred by any provision of this Act to make an order . . . shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.
Any power conferred by this Act to make an order . . . shall include power to make such incidental, supplemental or transitional provision as the authority exercising the power thinks fit.
Any power conferred by any provision of this Act to make an order . . . shall include power to revoke or vary the order by a subsequent order made under that provision.
The enactments specified in Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect subject to the amendments there specified, and of those amendments—
those specified in Part I of that Schedule are minor amendments and amendments consequential on the provisions of this Act; . . .
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The enactments specified in Schedule 2 to this Act (which include certain spent provisions) are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.
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Except so far as the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, extended or applied by or under any other enactment, including this Act.
This Act may be cited as the Civil Aviation Act 1978.
This Act shall come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by order appoint; and different days may be so appointed for different purposes.
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Where any provision of this Act (the amending provision) amends any provision of any other Act (the amended provision), then—
if the amended provision does not extend to any part of the United Kingdom the amending provision shall not extend to that part; . . .
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In subsections . . . (5) above references to the amendment of any provision of any Act include a reference to the repeal of any such provision.
Section 14.
in subsection (1), after the words " portion thereof" there shall be inserted the words " or over any area of sea specified in the order "; and
in the proviso to subsection (3) (compensation not payable in respect of general order prohibiting flying in the United Kingdom or any part thereof), at the end there shall be added the words " or over any area of sea. ".
The enactments and instruments with respect to which provision may be made by Order in Council in pursuance of section 1(1)(h) of the Hovercraft Act 1968 (power to apply enactments and instruments in relation to hovercraft, etc.) shall include this Act and any instrument made under it.
The Civil Aviation Act 1949 shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph. In section 10(1) (investigation of accidents), the word " British " shall be omitted. It is hereby declared that the duty imposed by subsection (1) of section 18 (health control at Secretary of State's aerodromes) in relation to Great Britain on the Secretary of State is imposed in relation to Northern Ireland on the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland acting alone ; and that section shall be amended as follows:— Section 19 shall be amended as follows:— In section 20 (power of local authority to carry on ancillary business at aerodrome) for the word " provided" there shall be substituted the word " maintained " and for the words " carrying on " the word " maintaining ". In section 59 (extraterritorial effect), for " British aircraft " wherever occurring there shall be substituted " aircraft ". Sub-paragraph (4)(b) above shall be deemed to have had effect as from the passing of the said Act of 1949.
The 1968 Act shall be amended as follows. In section 1 (control of road traffic at Secretary of State's aerodromes and local authority aerodromes)— In section 4(1) (byelaws at certain private aerodromes), before the words " the British Airports Authority " there shall be inserted the words " the Civil Aviation Authority, ". Section 6 (provision of facilities by local authorities at aerodromes not established or maintained by them) shall be amended as follows:—
The 1971 Act shall be amended as follows. In section 4(3) (power of Secretary of State to give Civil Aviation Authority specific directions) for the words " subsections (1) and (2) " there shall be substituted the words " subsection (1) ". In section 9(5) the words from " and any charge " onwards (being unnecessary words relating to the enforcement of charges payable to the Civil Aviation Authority) shall be omitted. In section 29— In section 32(3) (health control at Civil Aviation Authority's aerodromes in Northern Ireland), the words from "but nothing" onwards shall be omitted.
Section 14.