General Aviation Report
 

Could someone please tell me under what circumstances it is necessary to file a General Aviation Report?

Essentially if you travel to or from the UK, but not via a UK customs airport as your first/last airport of call. And if you travel via a UK customs airport, they (so I'm told) will most likely ask you to fill in a GAR form anyway.

The details as to whom to send it to, in what case, and with how many hours prior notice are on the back of the form. So are the fax numbers. But my limited experience has learned me that it's easier to call the airfield in question beforehand (needs to be done anyway for PPR) and fax the form to them. They'll fax it onwards to whoever needs to know.

Initially it may come across as very daunting. But the reality is that without the GAR form and the procedures that surround it, you would always have to fly to/from a customs airport, making your options quite limited. Right now, essentially, I can fly from any customs airport in Europe direct to any airport in the UK and vice versa.

I ask this question because a couple of weeks ago a colleague of mine was flying a light aircraft charter from Durham Tees Valley to Birmingham. He asked me to print him off a copy of the GAR form. When I queried why this was necessary another colleague told me that Birmingham 'like' you to do it. This sounds like function creep and pointless bureaucracy to me. Does anyone know if Birmingham have any legal right to insist that this form be filled in?

Obviously handing over personal details of myself and my passengers just because some airport 'likes it' is a very serious matter indeed!

Birmingham have no right to ask for this.

However (without looking) it is likely they want PPR and they may be suggesting you fax them the GAR form to do that.

Do note that UK police do have the right (in the Terrorism Act) to inspect people getting on or off any plane, even for a flight wholly inside the UK. Same with a ship I believe. But this doesn't mean you have to get their permission to fly.

I believe that according to the AIP they only require PPR for non-radio aircraft. If I ever do pop into Birmingham I will not fill in the GAR from and see what happens!