The Crediting of Third Country and Military Certification for Air Traffic Controllers Regulations 2025
Source: legislation.gov.uk (2025-12-10)

These Regulations enable the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to give credit for training undertaken for third country air traffic controller licences and United Kingdom (UK) military air traffic controller certificates of competence.

Statutory Instruments

2025 No. 1203

CIVIL AVIATION

The Crediting of Third Country and Military Certification for Air Traffic Controllers Regulations 2025

Made

17th November 2025

Laid before Parliament

19th November 2025

Coming into force

10th December 2025

The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 50(1)(c) and 68(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/european/regulation/2018/1139\")(1 (\"#f00001\")).

Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Crediting of Third Country and Military Certification for Air Traffic Controllers Regulations 2025 and they come into force on 10th December 2025.

Extent

2. These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Interpretation

3. In these Regulations—

“ATCO” means air traffic controller;

“ATCO Licensing Regulation” means Commission Regulation (EU) No 2015/340 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/european/regulation/2015/0340\")(2 (\"#f00002\")) of 20th February 2015 laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures relating to air traffic controllers’ licences and certificates pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/european/regulation/2008/0216\") of the European Parliament and of the Council, amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 923/2012 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/european/regulation/2012/0923\") and repealing Commission Regulation (EU) No 805/2011 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/european/regulation/2011/0805\");

“the CAA” and “third country” have the same meaning as in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/european/regulation/2018/1139\");

“third country licence” means an ATCO licence issued in accordance with Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention(3 (\"#f00003\")) by a third country;

“training organisation” has the same meaning as in Article 4(29) of the ATCO Licensing Regulation;

“UK” means the United Kingdom;

“UK ATCO licence” has the same meaning as “licence” in Article 4(14) of the ATCO Licensing Regulation;

“UK ATCO training requirements” means the requirements in Subpart D of Annex I to the ATCO Licensing Regulation (air traffic controller training).

Crediting of ATCO training and experience from third country licence holders

4.—(1) Where an applicant for a UK ATCO licence holds a third country licence, the CAA may give credit for any knowledge, experience and skills acquired to obtain that licence which is equivalent to the knowledge, experience and skills required to comply with the UK ATCO training requirements.

(2) The credit referred to in paragraph (1) may take the form of a reduction in one or more of the following—

(a)course duration,

(b)number of lessons, and

(c)specific training hours.

(3) Before giving credit to an applicant under paragraph (1), the CAA must obtain a credit report from a training organisation for the purpose of assessing the compliance of the training undertaken for the applicant’s third country licence with the UK ATCO training requirements.

(4) The CAA must consider a recommendation made in the credit report referred to in paragraph (3) when determining any credit to be given to an applicant under paragraph (1).

(5) This regulation does not apply if the applicant’s third country licence was issued by a country which is party to an international agreement with the UK concerning the recognition of certificates referred to in Article 68(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/european/regulation/2018/1139\").

Crediting of ATCO training and experience from UK military certificate of competence holders

5.—(1) Where an applicant for a UK ATCO licence who holds a UK military certificate of competence, the CAA may give credit for any knowledge, experience and skills gained in the training for that certification which is equivalent to the knowledge, experience and skills required to comply with the UK ATCO training requirements.

(2) The credit referred to in paragraph (1) may take the form of a reduction in one or more of the following—

(a)course duration,

(b)number of lessons,

(c)specific training hours.

(3) Before giving credit to an applicant under paragraph (1), the CAA must obtain a credit report from a training organisation for the purpose of assessing the compliance of the training undertaken for the applicant’s UK military certificate of competence with the UK ATCO training requirements.

(4) The CAA must consider a recommendation made in the credit report referred to in paragraph (3) when determining any credit to be given to an applicant under paragraph (1).

(5) “UK military certificate of competence” means an ATCO certificate of competence issued by the UK’s Ministry of Defence in accordance with Regulatory Article RA 3202(4 (\"#f00004\")).

Contents of a credit report

6. A credit report referred to in regulations 4(3) and 5(3) must, as a minimum—

(a)describe the basis on which the third country or the UK military certificate of competence, including any associated ratings, certificates, authorisations and qualifications, was issued,

(b)describe the scope of the privileges that were given to the ATCO,

(c)assess the extent to which knowledge, experience and skills acquired for the purpose of a third country licence or UK military certificate of competence are equivalent to the UK ATCO training requirements,

(d)recommend the UK ATCO training requirements for which credit may be given,

(e)include a copy of any document necessary to demonstrate the elements described in sub-paragraphs (a) to (c), and copies the relevant national requirements and procedures, where such documents are available, and

(f)include, where available, a copy of relevant national requirements and procedures.

Review

7.—(1) The Secretary of State must from time to time—

(a)carry out a review of the Crediting of Third Country and Military Certification for Air Traffic Controllers Regulations 2025,

(b)set out the conclusions of the review in a report, and

(c)publish the report.

(2) Section 30(4) of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015(5 (\"#f00005\")) requires that the report must in particular—

(a)set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory system established by these Regulations,

(b)assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved, and

(c)assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they could be achieved with a system that imposes less regulation.

(3) The first report under this regulation must be published before 10th December 2030.

(4) Reports under this regulation are afterwards to be published at intervals not exceeding five years.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport

Keir Mather

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

17th November 2025

Department for Transport

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations enable the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to give credit for training undertaken for third country air traffic controller licences and United Kingdom (UK) military air traffic controller certificates of competence.

These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Regulation 4 establishes the requirements when giving credit for third country licences.

Regulation 5 establishes the requirements when giving credit for air traffic controller certificates of competence issued by the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

Regulation 6 sets out the essential contents of a credit report for the purpose of assessing the compliance of the applicant’s third country or military air traffic controller qualifications with the UK air traffic controller training requirements in Subpart D of Annex I to Commission Regulation (EU) No 2015/340 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/european/regulation/2015/0340\") which lays down technical requirements and administrative procedures relating to air traffic controllers’ licences and certificates (EUR 2015/340 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/european/regulation/2015/0340\"), amended by S.I. 2019/645 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2019/645\")).

Regulation 7 establishes the requirement for periodic post-implementation reviews.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for these Regulations as no, or no significant, impact on the business or voluntary sectors is foreseen. An Explanatory Memorandum and a de minimis assessment are published alongside these Regulations on the UK legislation website, www.legislation.gov.uk (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk\")

(1)

EUR 2018/1139 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/european/regulation/2018/1139\"), amended by S.I. 2019/645 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2019/645\").

(2)

EUR 2015/340 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/european/regulation/2015/0340\"), amended by S.I. 2019/645 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2019/645\").

(3)

The Chicago Convention is the Convention on International Civil Aviation and its Annexes, signed in Chicago on 7th December 1944, as amended.

(4)

The Ministry of Defence regulates military air traffic controllers and issues Certificates of Competence through Regulatory Article RA 3202, which is available in electronic format from the www.gov.uk (\"http://www.gov.uk\") website at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-article-ra-3202-air-traffic-management-atm-qualifications (\"). For a hard copy contact the Central Correspondence Unit at MOD Main Building (Zone 5A), Whitehall, London, SW1A 2HB, United Kingdom, or the Military Aviation Authority Regulatory Publications Team at #5102 Level 1, Juniper Building, MoD Abbey Wood (North), Bristol, BS34 8QW, United Kingdom.

(5)

2015 c. 26 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/2015/26\").