General aviation operators and pilots

This page contains information for the operators and pilots of general aviation aircraft who intend to travel to or from the UK.

We use the term 'general aviation' to describe international and Channel Islands traffic which travels to or from the UK but does not operate to a specific and published schedule.

An operator or pilot of a general aviation aircraft is legally required to provide notification of flights if they are making an international or Channel Islands journey to or from the UK, unless they are travelling directly from the UK to a destination in the European Union.

Even if operators and pilots are not required to provide notification of a flight, it is helpful if they do provide this notification.

To provide notification of flights, operators and pilots must complete a General Aviation Report (GAR) form. You can download the form and accompanying instructions from the right side of this page.

The requirement to provide notification is made under:

• section 35 of the Customs & Excise Management Act 1979
• section 27 of schedule 2 of the Immigration Act 1971
• schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000