Civil Aviation Act 2012

PART 1 — Airports

CHAPTER 1 — Regulation of operators of dominant airports

General duties

CAA’s general duty

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• (1) The CAA must carry out its functions under this Chapter in a manner which it considers will further the interests of users of air transport services regarding the range, availability, continuity, cost and quality of airport operation services.

• (2) The CAA must do so, where appropriate, by carrying out the functions in a manner which it considers will promote competition in the provision of airport operation services.

• (3) In performing its duties under subsections (1) and (2) the CAA must have regard to—

• (a) the need to secure that each holder of a licence under this Chapter is able to finance its provision of airport operation services in the area for which the licence is granted,

• (b) the need to secure that all reasonable demands for airport operation services are met,

• (c) the need to promote economy and efficiency on the part of each holder of a licence under this Chapter in its provision of airport operation services at the airport to which the licence relates,

• (d) the need to secure that each holder of a licence under this Chapter is able to take reasonable measures to reduce, control or mitigate the adverse environmental effects of the airport to which the licence relates, facilities used or intended to be used in connection with that airport (“associated facilities”) and aircraft using that airport,

• (e) any guidance issued to the CAA by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Chapter,

• (f) any international obligation of the United Kingdom notified to the CAA by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Chapter, and

• (g) the principles in subsection (4).

• (4) Those principles are that—

• (a) regulatory activities should be carried out in a way which is transparent, accountable, proportionate and consistent, and

• (b) regulatory activities should be targeted only at cases in which action is needed.

• (5) If, in a particular case, the CAA considers that there is a conflict—

• (a) between the interests of different classes of user of air transport services, or

• (b) between the interests of users of air transport services in different matters mentioned in subsection (1),

its duty under subsection (1) is to carry out the functions in a manner which it considers will further such of those interests as it thinks best.

• (6) For the purposes of subsection (3)(d) the environmental effects of the airport, associated facilities and aircraft include—

• (a) substances, energy, noise, vibration or waste, including emissions, discharges and other releases into the environment,

• (b) visual or other disturbance to the public,

• (c) effects from works carried out at the airport or the associated facilities or to extend the airport or the associated facilities, and

• (d) effects from services provided at the airport or the associated facilities.

• (7) Section 4 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 (CAA's general objectives) does not apply in relation to the carrying out by the CAA of its functions under this Chapter.

Secretary of State’s general duty

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• (1) The Secretary of State must carry out the functions listed in subsection (3) in a manner which the Secretary of State considers will further the interests of users of air transport services regarding the range, availability, continuity, cost and quality of airport operation services.

• (2) The Secretary of State must do so, where appropriate, by carrying out the functions in a manner which the Secretary of State considers will promote competition in the provision of airport operation services.

• (3) Those functions are—

• (a) the Secretary of State's functions under this Chapter, and

• (b) the Secretary of State's functions under Chapter 3, other than the functions under sections 66(3) and 68(6).

• (4) In performing the duties under subsections (1) and (2) the Secretary of State must have regard to—

• (a) the need to secure that each holder of a licence under this Chapter is able to finance its provision of airport operation services in the area for which the licence is granted,

• (b) the need to secure that all reasonable demands for airport operation services are met,

• (c) the need to promote economy and efficiency on the part of each holder of a licence under this Chapter in its provision of airport operation services at the airport to which the licence relates,

• (d) the need to secure that each holder of a licence under this Chapter is able to take reasonable measures to reduce, control or mitigate the adverse environmental effects of the airport to which the licence relates, facilities used or intended to be used in connection with that airport (“associated facilities”) and aircraft using that airport, and

• (e) the principles in subsection (5).

• (5) Those principles are that—

• (a) regulatory activities should be carried out in a way which is transparent, accountable, proportionate and consistent, and

• (b) regulatory activities should be targeted only at cases in which action is needed.

• (6) If, in a particular case, the Secretary of State considers that there is a conflict—

• (a) between the interests of different classes of user of air transport services, or

• (b) between the interests of users of air transport services in different matters mentioned in subsection (1),

the duty under subsection (1) is to carry out the functions in a manner which the Secretary of State considers will further such of those interests as the Secretary of State thinks best.

• (7) For the purposes of subsection (4)(d) the environmental effects of the airport, associated facilities and aircraft include the effects mentioned in section 1(6).

Prohibition

Prohibition

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• (1) Subsection (2) applies where for a period—

• (a) a person (“P”) is the operator of an airport area (“area A”) that is a dominant area or part of a dominant area,

• (b) area A is located at a dominant airport, and

• (c) P does not have a licence in respect of area A.

• (2) The persons mentioned in subsection (3) may not require a person to pay a relevant charge in respect of airport operation services that are provided during that period in—

• (a) area A, or

• (b) any other area that forms part of the same airport and in respect of which P is the operator and does not have a licence.

• (3) Those persons are—

• (a) P,

• (b) a person who is connected to P,

• (c) a person to whom P or a person connected to P has assigned the right to require payment of the charge, and

• (d) a person acting on behalf of a person within paragraph (a), (b) or (c).

• (4) If a person requires payment of charges in contravention of subsection (2)—

• (a) the charge is not recoverable by the person, and

• (b) if paid, the charge is recoverable from the person.

• (5) A charge is not irrecoverable under subsection (4)(a) or recoverable under subsection (4)(b) by reason of—

• (a) the invalidity of a market power determination (and the consequent continuation in effect of a previous market power determination), or

• (b) the invalidity of an operator determination,

if it is a charge in respect of services provided before invalidity is finally determined in legal proceedings.

• (6) Subsection (5) applies—

• (a) whether or not the charge is required to be paid before the final determination of invalidity, and

• (b) whether or not the charge is paid before that determination.

• (7) The CAA may enforce subsection (2) in civil proceedings for an injunction or, in Scotland, an interdict.

• (8) In this section “relevant charge” means any charge other than—

• (a) a penalty payable by virtue of section 38C of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 (breaches of noise control schemes),

• (b) a penalty payable by virtue of section 78A of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 (penalty schemes established by managers of aerodromes), or

• (c) a charge payable by virtue of section 73 of the Transport Act 2000 (charges for chargeable air services).

Prohibition: exemption

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• (1) This section applies if a person who is the operator of an airport area (“area A”) on a day on which area A becomes a dominant area located at a dominant airport, or part of such an area, does not have a licence in respect of area A on that day.

• (2) For the purposes of section 3, the person is to be treated as having a licence in respect of area A during the preliminary period.

• (3) The preliminary period begins for area A on the day mentioned in subsection (1).

• (4) The preliminary period ends for area A when one of the following occurs—

• (a) a licence is granted to the person in respect of area A or an area that includes all of area A;

• (b) the CAA publishes a notice of its decision to refuse to grant a licence to the person in respect of area A;

• (c) the person ceases to be the operator of area A;

• (d) area A ceases to be a dominant area or part of a dominant area;

• (e) the airport at which area A is located ceases to be a dominant airport.

• (5) If subsection (4)(a), (b), (c) or (d) is satisfied in relation to a part of area A, the preliminary period ends for that part of the area.

Dominant airports

Dominant areas and dominant airports

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• (1) For the purposes of this Part, an airport area is dominant if the CAA has—

• (a) made a determination that the market power test is met in relation to the area (see section 6), and

• (b) published a notice of the determination.

• (2) For the purposes of this Part, an airport is dominant if all or part of its core area is a dominant area or part of a dominant area.

• (3) In this Part—

• “airport area” means an area that consists of or forms part of an airport;

• “area” includes an area of land, a building or other structure and a part of a building or other structure.

• (4) In this Part “core area”, in relation to an airport, means—

• (a) the land, buildings and other structures used for the purposes of the landing, taking off, manoeuvring, parking and servicing of aircraft at the airport,

• (b) the passenger terminals, and

• (c) the cargo processing areas,

(subject to regulations under section 66).

• (5) In subsection (1) the reference to a determination does not include a determination that has ceased to have effect (see section 7(9) and (10)).

Market power test

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• (1) The market power test is met in relation to an airport area if tests A to C are met by or in relation to the relevant operator.

• (2) For the purposes of tests A to C “the relevant operator” means the person who is the operator of the airport area at the time the test is applied.

• (3) Test A is that the relevant operator has, or is likely to acquire, substantial market power in a market, either alone or taken with such other persons as the CAA considers appropriate (but see subsections (6) and (7)).

• (4) Test B is that competition law does not provide sufficient protection against the risk that the relevant operator may engage in conduct that amounts to an abuse of that substantial market power.

• (5) Test C is that, for users of air transport services, the benefits of regulating the relevant operator by means of a licence are likely to outweigh the adverse effects.

• (6) Test A is met only if—

• (a) the market is a market for one or more of the types of airport operation service provided in the airport area (or for services that include one or more of those types of service), and

• (b) geographically the market consists of or includes all or part of the airport area.

• (7) In relation to an airport area that includes all or part of the core area of an airport (as well as all or part of the rest of the airport), subsection (6) has effect as if the references to the airport area were references to the core area or, as appropriate, the part of the core area.

• (8) For the purposes of test B conduct may, in particular, amount to an abuse of substantial market power if it is conduct described in section 18(2)(a) to (d) of the Competition Act 1998.

• (9) In test B “competition law” means—

• (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (b) Part 1 of the Competition Act 1998, and

• (c) Part 4 of the Enterprise Act 2002 (market investigations).

• (10) In applying tests A to C, the CAA must have regard to—

• (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (b) relevant advice and information published under section 52 of the Competition Act 1998 (advice and information about the application and enforcement of the prohibitions in Part 1 of that Act ...);

• (c) relevant advice and information published under section 171 of the Enterprise Act 2002 (advice and information about the operation of Part 4 of that Act).

• (11) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Market power determinations

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• (1) The CAA may make a determination that the market power test is or is not met in relation to an airport area (a “market power determination”) whenever it considers it appropriate to do so.

• (2) The CAA must make a market power determination in respect of an airport area if—

• (a) it is asked to do so by a person listed in subsection (3),

• (b) the area is located at an airport that is a large airport at the time the request is made, and

• (c) the area consists of or includes all or part of the core area of the airport.

• (3) Those persons are—

• (a) the operator of the airport area, and

• (b) any other person whose interests are likely to be materially affected by the determination.

• (4) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b), an airport is a large airport during a calendar year if, in the previous calendar year, the number of passenger movements at the airport exceeded 5 million.

• (5) Subsection (2) does not apply if—

• (a) the CAA has previously made a market power determination in respect of the airport area (or an area that includes all of the airport area), and

• (b) it considers that there has not been a material change of circumstances since that determination.

• (6) The CAA may treat a request under subsection (2) in respect of an airport area (“area A”) as if it were—

• (a) a number of requests in respect of a number of airport areas that consist of or include different parts of area A, or

• (b) a request in respect of an area that includes all of area A.

• (7) When choosing an airport area that is to be the subject of a market power determination, the CAA must have regard to the market or markets that are relevant for the purposes of test A (see section 6(3)).

• (8) The CAA may, in particular—

• (a) make separate market power determinations in respect of different areas which are located at the same airport and have the same relevant operator (within the meaning of section 6(2));

• (b) make a market power determination in respect of an airport area that consists of two or more areas that are not adjacent if the areas are located at the same airport.

• (9) A market power determination in respect of an airport area ceases to have effect if the CAA publishes a notice of a further market power determination in respect of the airport area or in respect of an area that includes all of the airport area.

• (10) Where the CAA—

• (a) publishes a notice of a market power determination in respect of an airport area (“determination A”), and

• (b) subsequently publishes a notice of a market power determination in respect of part of the airport area or in respect of an area that includes part of the airport area,

determination A ceases to have effect in relation to that part (but continues to have effect in relation to the rest of the airport area).

• (11) In this section “passenger movements” has the same meaning as in Directive 2009/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on airport charges.

Publication of market power determinations

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• (1) As soon as practicable after making a market power determination the CAA must—

• (a) publish a notice of the determination, and

• (b) send a copy of the notice to each person listed in subsection (2).

• (2) Those persons are—

• (a) the operator of the airport area that is the subject of the determination,

• (b) if the CAA was required by section 7(2) to make the determination, any other person who requested the determination, and

• (c) such bodies representing airport operators or providers of air transport services as the CAA considers appropriate.

• (3) If the notice does not include the CAA's reasons for the determination, the CAA must as soon as practicable after publishing the notice—

• (a) publish its reasons, and

• (b) send a copy of them to each person listed in subsection (2).

Operators of areas

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• (1) For the purposes of this Part, a person is the operator of an airport area if the person has overall responsibility for the management of all of the area.

• (2) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision about when a person is or is not to be treated for the purposes of this Part as having overall responsibility for the management of an airport area.