There appears to be a considerable amount of myth and misinformation circulating about the status of the exemptions issued by the CAA including those which recognise BMFA Achievements and exempt members from registering as Operators by the 30th November (and doing it instead as part of their BMFA Membership Renewal). Full details of the CAA exemptions can be found at www.be-lawful.bmfa.org.
Concern has been expressed by some that the exemptions are only effective until June 2020. There is however a very clear rationale for this, because the current arrangements are an interim measure which have been put in place to comply with the UK laws which come into effect on the 30th November.
However, the CAA are committed to working with us to align with the new EU regulations and put in place a permanent Authorisation which sets out and agrees our longer-term arrangements – with effect from June 2020. It is therefore anticipated that the exemptions will become redundant at that point and the existing terms will be incorporated into our Authorisation. In the event that this is not resolved by June, then the CAA will simply re-issue the current exemptions.
Some members have expressed concern that registering with the CAA via the BMFA means that they will not be issued with a CAA Flyer I.D. The simple reason for this is that our members don’t need one! The CAA issue a Flyer I.D. solely to confirm that someone has taken their online test. Members with an existing achievement (including the new Registration Competency Certificate) are exempted from this requirement.
For members registering via the BMFA, the CAA will email them their Operator I.D. in early February which they should then display in an easily accessible location on or within their aircraft. Members are exempted from the requirement to display an Operator number until 23rd February 2020.
Some members have expressed concern that the Police may not accept BMFA documents. However, this is speculation with no basis in fact. We understand that the Police are being briefed on acceptable forms of documentation this week and all Associations have been asked to provide examples.
What we have arrived at is a very simple way for many of our members to comply with the law. For those with an achievement (including the new Registration Competency Certificate), the only requirement is to pay the additional £9 CAA fee (don’t forget that we succeeded in getting this fee almost halved from the original £16.50 – for the benefit of everyone). We are also in a position to assist those members without an existing Achievement (or in some cases internet access) to comply with the law with the help of their club.
We need the support of our members to make this work. If insufficient numbers utilise the concessions we have secured, then they are perhaps less likely to be available to us in the longer-term solutions we agree with the CAA from June 2020 onwards.
The whole process is very simple whichever route you take, so you can choose to register directly with the CAA or you can choose to register via the BMFA and help strengthen our position in upcoming negotiations.