CAA Publish New Charging Structure For 2025

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Civil Aviation Authority just published a proposed new charging regime https://www.caa.co.uk/publication/download/23362 and specific to #RPAS we’ve extracted key points relating to drones below for your reference.

All seems well reasoned and will help ensure sustainable development of our growing industry. Coptrz supports these proposals and as ever anticipate that others will bleat about them. Time to show some real professionalism and support the CAA to help unlock the potential of RPAS and get us back on track with our overseas peers.?

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CAA CAP 3047 “Statutory Charges FY2025/26: Consultation Document

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Digitising Specific Category Operations (DSCO) and Specific Operations

Risk Assessment (SORA)

New charges (￡1.8m)

The CAA is introducing a new charging framework for the Digitising Specific Category

Operations platform. This framework supports the launch and further development of the

digital platform and the Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) methodology, which

will enhance the safety assurance and efficiency of applying for Operational Authorisations

in the Specific Category of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) operations. The

development costs have been funded through the CAA’s efficiency and reinvestment plan,

however the increased ongoing cost of providing this enhanced service necessitates a

higher level of ongoing funding. We propose to achieve this through a combination of price

increases, reflecting the significant improvement in service and in line with the user-pays

concept, and through industry growth, enabled by the introduction of the SORA

methodology and DSCO platform.

The new platform introduces efficiencies to the current approval processes for RPAS

applications. Existing legacy processes have led to long application lead times,

dissatisfaction from customers and have reduced the efficiency of CAA colleagues. The

introduction of the SORA methodology alongside this new platform addresses these

issues by providing a transparent risk assessment framework, which, coupled with new

Remote Pilot Competency and Flight Worthiness frameworks, will improve safety

assurance to RPAS Operators and the CAA. The anticipated growth in the RPAS aviation

sector also means the development of a scalable digital platform to cope with the future

demand is vital.

The introduction of the new digital platform offers several benefits to RPAS operators:

? Enhanced Safety: The platform together with the SORA methodology will

improve safety by providing a more rigorous and transparent risk assessment

process. This includes additional checks and levels of Remote Pilot Competency

and Flight Worthiness Assessment. (i.e. additional pilot competency and

additional platform integrity).

? Improved Efficiency: The platform will significantly reduce application

processing times, enhancing the overall customer experience. For instance, the

PDRA01 application launched on the new platform this year has already resulted

in average processing times decreasing from 13 days to 23 minutes.

? Cost Avoidance: The platform has been designed to grow alongside industry,

enable economies of scale and a smaller resourcing footprint in future years than

would be necessary if the existing methodology and manual processes were

retained.

? Professionalisation of the RPAS Industry: By enabling more transparent,

efficient, and effective applications for Operational Authorisations to be made via

the SORA framework, the platform will help professionalise the RPAS industry.

This will provide operators with greater certainty at the point of application

support growth in the sector.

This change will also see a substantial increase in oversight activity performed by the

CAA, which is a fundamental requirement of the new methodology. This necessitates an

increase in technical resources at the CAA and, under the user-pays concept, means that

we will be seeking an increased contribution from regulated entities. Effective oversight is

critical to ensure RPAS operators can continue to fly in a safe and sustainable way.

The implementation of the digital platform will result in significant changes to the charging

structure for RPAS operators. Key impacts include:

? Pre-Defined Risk Assessments: The PDRA01 form was introduced early in

FY24/25 with a substantial positive impact on application lead-times, reducing

these on average from 13 days to 23 minutes. In the FY24/25 consultation

response document we highlighted that this service would initially be introduced

without an adjustment to the price point, with a potential increase considered for

FY25/26. Our analysis of the increased operating costs to provide this enhanced

service necessitates an increase in the price of declarative PDRA applications

from ￡234 to ￡500. We will be exploring the delivery of additional PDRAs over

the course of the coming year to further improve service efficiency, including non-

declarative PDRAs, test and evaluation PDRAs and other industry valued

PDRAs. We will set an initial price point of ￡2,185 for non-declarative PDRAs,

with both prices to remain under review over the coming years, reflecting

changes as the market evolves, matures and scales and the need for the service

to cover its costs in line with Managing Public Money.

? Low-Risk Specific Category Operators (SAIL I/II): The majority of existing

CAA RPAS operators are expected to have their current operations evaluated

within the lower SAIL scores under the new SORA methodology. We propose to

recover the cost of such applications in the following ways:

? For those customers receiving a SAIL I score we will charge a fixed fee of

￡2,185 on application and reapplication. The initial fee is the equivalent of

the current Operator Safety Case 1 (OSC1) charge, however the

reapplication fee is higher, reflecting the greater oversight role we will

perform.

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Low-Risk Specific Category Operators (SAIL I/II): The majority of existing

CAA RPAS operators are expected to have their current operations evaluated

within the lower SAIL scores under the new SORA methodology. We propose to

recover the cost of such applications in the following ways:

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? For those customers receiving a SAIL I score we will charge a fixed fee of

￡2,185 on application and reapplication. The initial fee is the equivalent of

the current Operator Safety Case 1 (OSC1) charge, however the

reapplication fee is higher, reflecting the greater oversight role we will

perform.

? Operators receiving a SAIL II score will be charged an initial ￡3,994 on

application, subject to an excess hourly charge of ￡312 / hour. This

application charge is at a similar level to that currently payable by complex

OSC1 operators (￡2,185 plus excess hours) therefore impacts for initial

applications are expected to be minimal. Non-technical reapplication fees

for SAIL II will be charged at ￡3,595, reflecting the greater oversight role we

will perform. Where a reapplication involves a technical change in

operations this will be treated as an initial application and charged

accordingly, reflecting the increased volume of work required to assess

such a change.

? High-Risk Specific Category Operators (SAIL III+): We propose to recover the

cost of these more complex applications in the following ways:

? Operators receiving a SAIL III/IV score will be charged an initial fee of

￡15,725, subject to an excess hourly charge of ￡468 / hour. This rate is

higher than the standard hourly rate in this scheme of ￡312 / hour, reflecting

the highly technical nature of the work performed and associated policy

work. Non-technical reapplications will be charged at a fixed rate of ￡8,816.

? Operators receiving a SAIL V/VI score will be charged an initial fee of

￡45,677, subject to an excess hourly charge of ￡468 / hour. This rate is

higher than the standard hourly rate in this scheme of ￡312 / hour, reflecting

the highly technical nature of the work performed and associated policy

work. Non-technical reapplications will be charged at a fixed rate of

￡13,420.

? Where a reapplication involves a technical change in operations this will be

treated as an initial application and charged accordingly, reflecting the

increased volume of work required to assess the technical change.

? Non-SORA Specific Category Operators: We propose to recover the cost of

applications and reapplications received outside of the SORA methodology

through a charge of ￡4,992, subject to an excess hourly rate of ￡312 / hour. This

charge reflects the current estimated cost of processing applications which will

not readily fit within the SORA methodology once adopted.

? Remote Pilot Certificate Issue: We propose that where the CAA issues a

Remote Pilot Certificate directly to an applicant a charge of ￡68 will be payable,

equivalent to our standard administration charge.

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Recognised Assessment Entities for Remote Pilot Competency (RAE-RPC):

The CAA will introduce two of the three new levels of RAE-RPC from FY25/26,

allowing approved entities to introduce increasingly complex pilot competency

offerings, aligned to the higher-risk activities enabled by the adoption of the

SORA methodology. To add a particular level, an RAE must already hold an

approval at all lower levels, e.g. it is not possible to hold only a level 3 approval.

The existing level 1 pilot competency charges will remain unchanged (￡4,369 for

an initial, ￡3,277 for a reapplication). We are proposing to recover the cost of the

additional levels by implementing the following charges:

? Level 2: Approval for delivery of Level 1 and Level 2 Remote Pilot

Competencies - an initial charge of ￡6,240, subject to excess hourly

charging at ￡312 / hour, and a reapplication charge of ￡3,277.

? Level 3: Approval for delivery of Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 Remote Pilot

Competencies - an initial charge of ￡9,360, subject to excess hourly

charging at ￡312 / hour, and a reapplication charge of ￡7,020.

? Recognised Assessment Entities for Flight Assessment of RPAS Platform

(RAE-FAE): Introduced under the SORA methodology, approved entities will play

a new role in assessing the integrity of RPAS platforms being flown by operators.

Approving and overseeing such entities will require a high level of technical

expertise, and to recover the cost of this work we are proposing to charge an

initial fee of ￡9,360, subject to excess hourly charging at ￡312 / hour, and a

reapplication charge of ￡7,020.

Under these proposals, based on our current expectations of how the SORA methodology

will be adopted, customer reactions and future industry growth, the new digital platform is

forecast to operate at a net loss of ￡0.5m over the next four years before achieving a

neutral operating position in FY29/30. The CAA will absorb this operating loss through

utilisation of efficiencies and financial reserves and is not expecting to recover the cost of

developing the platform (c. ￡8m) at this stage. A universal 10% reduction in the charges

proposed in this consultation would delay this break-even point until FY34/35, incurring

￡2.5 million in losses which would necessitate funding from customers through other

mechanisms. In line with the user-pays concept and the Managing Public Money

framework, we are seeking to recover the ongoing cost of this service from its direct

beneficiaries and not to build cross-subsidisation from other parts of industry or the

taxpayer into our proposals.

There are significant assumptions built into our financial modelling for the introduction of

the new platform, and the current proposals have been developed in a balanced way, on

our best knowledge at the time of this consultation. We will continue to refine these

assumptions based on ongoing analysis throughout this consultation, and into future years

as the market continues to evolve. In line with the user-pays concept, if we find that the

financial performance of the new platform sustainably exceeds our expectations we will

seek to lower prices for customers at the earliest opportunity. Conversely, if the service

does not recover its ongoing costs, or if there is evidence that an adjustment in the

distribution or methodology of cost recovery across RPAS customers is necessary, then

we will consult on changes in future years

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Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems

Structural Changes

New Scheme: Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems

Recognising the growing and unique nature of remotely piloted aviation activities, we

propose to create a dedicated charging scheme for all RPAS and Model Aircraft charges,

distinct from the existing General Aviation scheme. We propose that sections 3.9 – 3.12

are extracted from the General Aviation scheme to form the new document. This is

intended to ease customer interpretation and understanding of our charging documents.

New Charges: Specific Category Operators and Recommended Assessment Entities

We are proposing that aligned to the adoption of the SORA methodology and launch of the

DSCO platform we will make a series of changes to the way Specific Category Operators

and Recognised Assessment Entities are charged in the future. The intended changes are

set out in Section 2, with a detailed list of changes below:

Removed charges:

? 3.9 Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) – operational authorisations

New charges:

? Specific category operational authorisation – Pre-Defined Risk Assessments

(PRDA):

? Declarative: ￡500

? Non-Declarative: ￡2,185

? Specific category operational authorisation – Specific Operations Risk

Assessment (SORA)

? SAIL I initial application and reapplication fee, ￡2,185

? SAIL II initial application, ￡3,994 plus excess hourly rate of ￡312 / hour.CAP 3047 Statutory Charges FY2025/26: Consultation Document

November 2024 OFFICIAL – Public Page 41

? SAIL II non-technical reapplication, ￡3,595 (technical reapplication charged

as an initial application).

? SAIL III/IV initial application, ￡15,725 plus excess hourly rate of ￡468 / hour.

? SAIL III/IV non-technical reapplication, ￡8,816 (technical reapplication

charged as an initial application).

? SAIL V/VI initial application, ￡45,677 plus excess hourly rate of ￡468 / hour.

? SAIL V/VI non-technical renewal, ￡13,420 (technical reapplication charged

as an initial application).

? Specific category operational authorisation – Other

? Initial and reapplications, ￡4,992 plus excess hourly rate of ￡312 / hour.

? Remote Pilot Certificates

? CAA certificate issue, ￡68.

? Recognised Assessment Entities for Remote Pilot Competency (RAE-RPC):

? Level 1 Pilot Competency as currently shown in 3.10 Recognised

Assessment Entities (RAE) in relation to unmanned aircraft.

? Level 2 Pilot Competency initial application, ￡6,240 plus excess hourly rate

at ￡312 / hour.

? Level 2 Pilot Competency reapplication, ￡3,277.

? Level 2 Pilot Competency initial application, ￡9,360 plus excess hourly rate

at ￡312 / hour.

? Level 2 Pilot Competency reapplication, ￡7,020.

? All variations to a RAE-RPC approval to be charged ￡938 on application

plus excess hourly rate at ￡312 / hour.

? Recognised Assessment Entities for Flight Assessment of RPAS Platform (RAE-

FAE):

? Initial application charge, ￡9,360 plus excess hourly rate at ￡312 / hour.

? Variation charge, ￡938 on application plus excess hourly rate at ￡312 /

hour.

? Reapplication charge, ￡7,020.

Pricing Proposals

The prices under this Scheme are proposed to increase by 5.9%, made up of a general

price increase of 1.6% to partially tackle the impacts of inflation and 4.3% to fund specificCAP 3047 Statutory Charges FY2025/26: Consultation Document

November 2024 OFFICIAL – Public Page 42

activities as detailed in Section 2 and shown in the appendices. Unless otherwise indicated

all prices shown in this document are exclusive of these proposed price increases.

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This consultation document sets out our proposals for revisions to the existing UK Civil

Aviation Authority (CAA) Schemes of Charges, due to take effect from 1 April 2025.

Our mission to protect people and enable aerospace has been at the core of our thinking

when creating these proposals. We believe that they are fair balance of our regulatory

obligations with investment in supporting the aerospace sector to grow in the future,

considering the interests of all our stakeholders.

We are looking for your feedback on these proposals to allow us to refine our approach

and make informed decisions which benefit all parties. Please submit all feedback via the

CAA Statutory Charge FY2025/26 Consultation online submission form.

The consultation is open for a seven-week period and closes at midnight on the 6 January

2025. Following the consultation period, we will publish a response document reflecting

the consultation feedback received from industry and the Secretary of State for Transport.

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Over the past 10 years our charges have been systematically reduced in real-terms

through successive below-inflation price increases, meaning recurring charges are 27%

lower over this period against CPIH inflation published by the Office for National Statistics

(ONS). By the end of our current three-year efficiency and reinvestment plan (FY25/26)

we will have delivered both ￡7.4m in compound savings to industry and ￡15m in

cumulative ringfenced investment in the completing the Digitising Specific Category

Operations (DSCO) platform and progressing our CX&M programme. Our efficiency is

demonstrated by the relatively low cost of our corporate enabling functions as a proportion

of operating expenditure – when we compare this with other UK regulators the CAA

performs well, placed in the lower quartile.