View from the Chief Executive – August 2013

August 28th, 2013

At the last count, there have been no less than 31 aviation related public consultations issued by regulators this summer. This must be a record. These consultations range from major policy issues such as those under consideration by the Airports Commission to the more technical such as the progress of SESII. While nobody should complain when genuinely consulted prior to an important policy decision being made, the deluge of consultations this summer tests the capacity we all have for responding. BATA aims to help identify and list the consultations, offering first draft responses where Neal and I have the knowledge to do so. We are, however, dependent on and grateful for specialist input form members where needed. To address this record workload, BATA gives priority to those issues of importance identified by the Executive Committee. For example, BATA has worked closely with CAA and others through a series of working groups in which members put time and effort for the collective good. It was particularly useful to see the EC publish its list of “Extraordinary Circumstances” where the delay compensations provisions of EC261 should not normally apply. Although still not perfect, the situation is better than before and BATA members should take some credit for working with CAA on this.