Statement from London Oxford and Biggin Hill Airports regarding civil aviation at RAF Northolt

Monday 2nd February 2015

Following the issue of a press release last Friday, 23rd January, London Oxford and Biggin Hill Airports wish to clarify the following:

• The safety of all civilian aircraft using government owned military
  aerodromes is the sole responsibility of the Civil Aviation Authority not the Military Aviation Authority or MOD.
• The CAA is now responsible for deciding if RAF Northolt is safe for use by civil aircraft
• An assessment by the CAA is required and this may require civil aviation use of Northolt to be restricted, unless it is upgraded
• This may result in taxpayers facing a bill in excess of £20 million
• It has been admitted (by MOD and CAA) that Northolt does not comply with Civil Aviation safety standards.
• The Court ruling impacts on all civilian flights using military aerodromes,
  including the 12,000 civilian flights a year at RAF Northolt.

In a landmark ruling last week, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the
Secretary of State advised that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is
the statutory regulator required to determine safety standards for
civilian aircraft using government owned military aerodromes.

Previously, as part of a policy of attracting 12,000 more business jets a year to
RAF Northolt in west London, Ministers had repeatedly argued that they
didn't need to meet stricter, costlier civilian safety standards - only
military ones - and that the CAA had no regulatory responsibility or
powers at military aerodromes.

This meant that smaller private airports reliant on business jets were being
significantly undermined, as RAF Northolt became a competitor accepting
civil flights without incurring the higher costs of complying with
civilian safety standards.

London Oxford and Biggin Hill Airports, represented by John Steel QC, lodged
an application for a Judicial Review, arguing that the use of military
aerodromes by civil aircraft should be regulated by the CAA and subject
to equivalent safety standards that would apply to civilian airports, as
mandated by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA).

This Judicial Review has now clarified the position - the CAA and the Secretary of State for Transport are responsible for the safety of all civilian flights using RAF Northolt and other
military aerodromes in the U.K. The safety of military flights remains
the exclusive responsibility of the Military Aviation Authority and MOD.

As stated in the Judicial Review hearing, it has been suggested that the
costs to the taxpayer of meeting equivalent safety standards at
Northolt, (as would apply at a civilian airport) would run into tens of
millions. For example, the MOD submitted evidence that suggested that
measures to address a lack of adequate emergency runway run off areas to
allow for potential under/over-shooting aircraft would, alone, cost in
excess of £21 million at a time of defence cutbacks.

The Judgment is also likely to have a major impact on an ongoing EU
competition investigation concerning State Aid, and requested by London
Oxford and Biggin Hill Airports. Should the Commission find that the MOD
have been unfairly competing with the private sector, the compensation
bill could run into many tens of millions.

In welcoming the Judgment, Will Curtis, Managing Director of Biggin Hill
Airport in SE London, said 'Despite a serious crash in 1996 in which an
aircraft overran the runway and collided with a vehicle on the A40 trunk
road, action has not been taken to ensure that RAF Northolt meets
accepted civil aviation safety measures - measures that civil airports
such as ours are required to maintain. Lower safety standards at
military aerodromes may be able to be acceptable for military aviation
but are unacceptable for use by civil aviation, not only for those in
the aviation industry, but also for passengers and those in the
surrounding community on the ground.

This Judgment now, for the first time, clarifies that the CAA has statutory
responsibility for safety in relation to use of RAF Northolt by civil
aircraft. This is long overdue as the relevant legislation goes back to
1982. I am sure that they will want to quickly consider their position
regarding the safety standards for civil aircraft at RAF Northolt."

Andi Pargeter, Managing Director of London Oxford Airport said: "Today 85%
of flights at RAF Northolt are civilian. They can continue to operate as
a military airport accepting military flights, but if they want to
continue accepting civilian flights, they may need to put in costly new
safety measures. The question for the MOD now is will they use even more
taxpayers' money in order to distort the market and compete with small
private businesses that support hundreds of highly skilled engineering
jobs?"

Will Curtis added:  "Using taxpayers' money to compete with civil airports
serving the same customers is simply not equitable. As military and
government flights at RAF Northolt have declined, replacing them with
12,000 civilian flights a year means it is now effectively a civil
airport via the back door, despite the Airports Commission stating that
it sees no long term role for it."

Issued by Emerald Media / for London Oxford Airport