Bookworm
I have no practicak experience of Danish legislation. However, I have been told by the Danish CAA that it is impractical to base N registered aircraft in Denmark as the Danish Air Navigation Act requires such aircraft to obtain permission from the Danish CAA to make internal flights. (NB section is the term for a paragraph in UK Acts of Parliament which is why I used it in this case)
The Chicago Convention is the Convention on International Civil Aviation and as the name suggest it is not designed to cover strictly domestic issues. According to the ICAO Council (as reported in Shawcross and Beaumont Air Law) there are three types of flight covered by the right given by Article 5 these are;
- entry into and flight over a State's territory without a stop;
- entry into and flight over a State's territory with a stop for non-traffic purposes; and
- entry into a State's territory and final stop there for non-traffic purposes.
Presumably this includes the return flight but there is no absolutely mention of flights within a States territory. This is consistent with all other interpretations I have seen.
IO540
On what basis do you suggest that "The biggest driver in the CAA is probably money" The CAA is not a business and does not make a profit. It is a statutory corporation which undertakes regulatory functions assigned to it by Parliament. CAA charges can only ever cover costs (including a marginal return on capital employed if I remember rightly).
I don't think this would be a political issue between the UK and US because, if I understand the situation correctly, the FAA would be quite happy to be relieved of the responsibility for offshore based aircraft.
It would be interesting to know how many multi-aircraft N-reg operators based in the UK and to what extent it would be practicable for the rotating planes through the UK with other based elsewhere in Europe.
Phil Rigg
EASA's responsibility (as defined in EC legislation) is solely for aircraft registered in the EU Member States. While this of course could be changed by further legisaltion I have heard no suggestion that there are any proposals in this direction. The next things on the agenda for EASA appear to be operational standards and personnel licensing. This should keep the Bureaucrats busy for quite a few years.
Datcon
Sorry to disappoint you, but I am not now, nor have I ever been employed by the CAA. It's all right to ignore me.