Aviation Regulation & Compliance

Advising on establishing a new subsidiary airline in the UK, holding an AOC and obtaining other flight permits and slots; navigating through foreign ownership shareholding rules; traffic rights; restructuring of an MRO’s Part-145 maintenance network in the UK and across the EU; advising on the complex European regulatory framework relating to the refuelling procedures for commercial aircraft, and air traffic management issues.

Advising airlines on the rights of persons with reduced mobility; reviewing and advising on conditions of carriage and booking terms to ensure they are not regarded as misleading or unfair commercial practices and therefore unenforceable; advising on drip pricing, no-show policies, subscription terms, and the implementation and compliance with the evolving EU and UK consumer protection regulations.

Advising regularly on the ever-expanding scope of liability regimes and regulations, and assisting with passenger claims handling.  As well as advising on the Montreal Convention 1999, UK and EU regulations relating to denied boarding and passengers with reduced mobility (PRMs), conditions of carriage, and UK and European consumer protection legislation, we also handled global claims like the worldwide deep vein thrombosis litigation.

Advising airlines on the merits of a defence of “extraordinary circumstance” and the obligation to refund passengers in each circumstance; on potential enforcement actions from the Civil Aviation Authority and EU Consumer Protection Network; merits of setting aside default judgment and advice on any enforcement action by the County Court and High Court Enforcement Agents; and defending chargebacks issued by passengers and online travel agents under the Visa and Mastercard scheme rules claiming refunds for cancelled flights.

Advising airlines in relation to disruptive passenger incidents, including advice on the merits of prosecution, preparing and liaising with local police to submit police reports; considering the recoverability of costs associated with the disruption on the flight; amending general conditions of carriage to protect the carrier and crew from such incidents, and preparing and implementing policies and training for crew, and advising on the rights of the carrier, namely denied boarding or banning a passenger from future flights.

Advising airlines on proposed campaigns and compliance with the advertising standards and codes and assisting the airline to obtain the necessary approvals from Clearcast.

Advising on sanctions that may affect an airline's operations and business. This has included advising airlines and lessors on several issues arising out of the imposition of sanctions by the UK, US, and EU on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.