May 2012

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has today announced a change to night flying regulations which will allow aircraft to operate under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) in the hours of darkness. Currently, all civil aircraft flying at night in the UK must comply with Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) but, from the 8 June 2012, this requirement will be removed allowing pilots to decide whether to fly VFR or IFR. 

Visual Flight Rules are an internationally agreed standard set of operating rules designed to help prevent collisions between aircraft and the ground by ensuring that pilots fly in weather conditions that enable them to see a potential collision and take action to avoid it. Instrument Flight Rules are a more restrictive set of internationally agreed operating rules which include additional measures to help prevent collisions between aircraft particularly when flying in weather conditions where pilots may not be able to see other aircraft or obstacles (such as in cloud or poor visibility) and in areas with high volumes of traffic.The changes are being made to take into account new and emerging European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulations for pilot licensing and rules of the air. 





The CAA said that the change will be an improvement on the current night IFR requirements which are unique to the UK and not fully understood by all pilots, especially those visiting from overseas. The CAA said that most of the requirements for VFR at night are similar to the existing Instrument Flight Rules, so UK pilots will be able to continue flying at night as normal provided they hold a valid Night Rating or Qualification. Pilots who hold an Instrument Rating or IMC Rating will continue to have the choice of flying IFR at night.