Consultation Hub

We ran a consultation (CAP 3218) earlier in the year regarding potential amendments to the Pilot Medical Declaration (PMD) regulations in the Air Navigation Order 2016 (ANO) and UK Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 (the Aircrew Regulation).

We received a number of comments and have summarised them in our consultation response document: CAP3249: Pilot Medical Declaration amendments to the ANO and Aircrew regulations Consultation Response Document

Following completion of the Pilot Medical Declaration consultation on amending the Air Navigation Order 2016 and UK Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 (the UK Aircrew Regulation), we have now published our formal Consultation Response Document (CRD).

The CRD summarises the responses we received to the consultation and the next steps.

Read CAP3249: Pilot Medical Declaration amendments to the ANO and Aircrew regulations Consultation Response Document

CAP 1739 is a new document that does not introduce new legal requirements and forms non statutory safety guidance but builds on the guidance formerly found in CAP403 Flying Displays and Special Events until Edition 14 when significant re-writing took place.

This CAP is for participating pilots and event organisers of Balloon Events and Competitions.

The consultation was run as it is vital that the document reflected relevant practices in the Ballooning community so that these events continue to flourish with proportionate, clear and unambiguous guidance.

We compiled a draft of CAP 1739 and consulted on it over four weeks from 12^th January 2026 and 13^th February 2026. 

We received a total of 28 unique detailed comments to the draft CAP 403 from 8 respondents.

The themes of the comments showed support for the intent of the document but suggested significant restructuring of the document was required to have a common chapter for all Balloon Events with an Appendix for Competition Balloon Events instead of the current structure to ensure general flight safety material is better featured and that competition elements are reserved for genuinely competition‑specific procedures

There were discussions to ensure proportionality across balloon events, avoid rigid hour‑based experience thresholds for event staff, clarify roles, authority, and responsibilities, incorporate more elements of best practice, especially around tethering, roll calls, launch procedures and propane storage.

There was a strong feeling that further discussion should take place with relevant SMEs to continue to develop the document following the consultation.

The CAA has carefully considered all consultation responses received and thanks all contributors. The feedback was constructive, technically detailed, and informed by significant operational experience. The majority of substantive comments have been accepted, and the document has been comprehensively revised to improve clarity, proportionality, technical accuracy, and alignment with real‑world ballooning operations. This includes having expanded the main chapter to cover all balloon events and moving competition procedures to a smaller appendix focusing purely on Balloon Competition matters.

Where comments existed suggesting mandatory requirements, the community is reminded that this document is non-statutory guidance and cannot form the basis of regulatory requirements. Such points will be considered for any further rulemaking tasks at a later date.

In addition to analysing the written consultation responses, the CAA undertook further structured engagement with subject‑matter experts between February-April 2026 through the existing dedicated working group. This additional engagement was used to validate proposed changes, resolve areas of inconsistency, and refine the document to ensure it is operationally practical, proportionate to risk, and clearly understood by its intended audience.

We have produced a final version of CAP1739 which was published on 30^th April 2026.

It is vital that CAP 1724 Flying Display Pilot Authorisation and Evaluation: Requirements and Guidance remains up-to-date and relevant, and that the CAA’s guidance material in these areas remains proportionate, clear and unambiguous.

We asked for feedback from the regulated community on proposed amendments to CAP 1724 ahead of the 2026 display season. 

We compiled a draft of CAP 1724 Edition 8 and consulted on it over four working weeks from 05 January 2026 to 30 January 2026. 

We compiled a draft of CAP 1724 Edition 8 and consulted on it over four working weeks from 05 January 2026 to 30 January 2026. 

We received a total of 43 unique comments to the draft CAP 1724 from 8 respondents.  
Of all the comments, 19 clearly conveyed some sort of change and 24 were either unclear / not specific or suggested no changes, some being purely comments.  46% of all the comments supported the proposed amendments.

Of the 19 conveying a change, 9 were textual in nature, suggesting revised wording or highlighting minor drafting / clarification points, 2 being duplicated between respondents.  The other 10 comments were more substantive, calling for some sort of change of the underlying policy. 

We accepted 13 of the 19 comments suggesting some sort of change (68%).  8 of these comprised of rewording content or the addition of further information for additional clarification, we have tried to take a balanced view on what would be helpful.  Of the remaining 5, 4 concerned minor policy changes and 1 concerned an underlying policy change that will require further DAE consultation before any implementation.

Of the remaining 24, 4 were unclear / not specific whilst the remaining 20 expressed support for the changes.

Regarding the 6 comments suggesting some sort of change that were not implemented, 1 concerned a grammar issue (spelling) that we were unable to locate, 3 concerned sensitive text that we are unable to change due to further unintended consequences and 2 concerned underlying policy beyond the scope of CAP 1724.

We have produced a final version of CAP 1724 Edition 8 which was published on 9 March 2026.