Website of the Liaison Group of UK Airport Consultative Committees

Statutory Framework

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Details of the statutory framework within which Consultative Committees operate:

The Civil Aviation Act 1982
The Designation Order
Guidelines
The Fairoaks Case

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The Civil Aviation Act 1982

Section 35 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 (as amended) provides for the designation of aerodromes for the purposes of consultation.  It reads:

"(1) This section applies to any aerodrome which is designated for the purposes of this section by an Order made by the Secretary of State

(2) The person having the management of any aerodrome to which this section applies shall provide:-

(a) for users of the aerodrome,

(b) for any local authority (or, if the person having the management of the aerodrome is a local authority, for any other local authority) in whose area the aerodrome or any part thereof is situated or whose area is in the neighbourhood of the aerodrome, and

(c) for any other organisation representing the interests of persons concerned with the locality in which the aerodrome is situated,

adequate facilities for consultation with respect to any matter concerning the management or administration of the aerodrome which affects their interests.

(3)  The reference in subsection (2)(b) above to any local authority includes in relation to the area of Greater London a reference to the Mayor of London acting on behalf of the Greater London Authority"

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The Designation Order

The Order designating aerodromes under section 35 of the 1982 Act is the:

The Aerodromes Designation (Facilities for Consultation) Order 1996 (SI 1996/1392) as amended (SI 2002/2421)

The aerodromes are listed in the Schedule to the 2002 amending order.  There are 51 of them as follows:

In Northern Ireland there are three airports designated under local powers.The Airports (Designation) (Facilities for Consultation) Order (Northern Ireland) 1997 designates Belfast International, Belfast City and Derry airports.

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Guidelines

Where an aerodrome is designated the Department for Transport recommends the operator to establish an airport consultative committee according to Guidelines published by the Department for such Committees.  The latest (2003) Guidelines are reproduced in full on our Guidelines Page.

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The Fairoaks Case

Where an airport follows the DfT recommendations and sets up a consultative committee its membership must include representatives of the groups referred to in section 35 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982.  There does not have to be numerical equality but there must be sufficient representation from each group to ensure that the views of that group are adequately expressed. This is one of the key findings in the case of Regina v. Fairoaks Airport Ltd. ex parte Richard Roads in November 1998.

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