Starting January 1, 2023, Charter Operators will be required to have an UK TCO Authorization before being able to obtain UK Charter Permits

With the United Kingdom’s BREXIT withdrawal from the European Union and European Air Safety Agency (EASA); the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has taken over the administrative responsibility of Third Country Operator (TCO) authorizations in respect of all scheduled commercial and non-scheduled charter operations undertaken within the UK’s territory.

To facilitate this change, the CAA has put in place a new online portal structure to manage UK TCO applications and encourage charter carriers to act now to begin their registration and submission process in order to allow the CAA to conduct their safety evaluations well prior to their December 31, 2022, cutover date.  To utilize their online application form, carriers will need to register and create an account via their portal.

Once granted, the UK TCO authorization will replace the EASA TCO authorization in relation to UK territorial operations. Whilst a UK TCO does not grant traffic rights (that being managed through the parallel Foreign Carrier Permit system), without the UK TCO authorization an UK charter permit cannot be issued.

The UK’s CAA will continue to recognize a valid EASA TCO up to December 31, 2022. If carriers don’t currently hold an EASA TCO, they will be required to hold an UK TCO before undertaking approved operations in the UK. Please note that your company will still need to hold an EASA TCO in parallel to a UK TCO to continue commercial operations within the European Common Aviation Area.

To begin the process of registration and the creation of an account on the UK’s CAA Portal:

1. Go to: https://www.caa.co.uk/CAP1902 for the CAA Customer Portal Registration Guide
2. You will be able to request the TCO application service from your portal account
3. The CAA Account Team will review the request, verify, and confirm your registration by email
4. Once you receive that email you will be able to begin the application process on the TCO Service

If you have any specific concerns or queries, they should be directed to TCO@caa.co.uk  or the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority website: https://www.caa.co.uk