December 23 - Leading representatives from the Baltic Air Charter Association (BACA) and the British Business & General Aviation (BBGA) were present to discuss some of the critical aviation issues at a recent BACA/BBGA training day.
Broker accreditation, tax increases for the business aviation sector, and the changing nature of UK border agencies were some of the topics covered at the forum.
Tony Coe, chairman of BACA, said an increasing number of governments, international agencies and multinational companies are demanding their suppliers have official industry accreditation: "We have been consulting with experts in this field and looking at how other industries operate and now feel we have a good understanding of what we need to do to establish an international accreditation for air charter brokers.
"We are setting up a discussion panel and will be involving all the relevant parties to develop our proposal," he added.
Marc Bailey, ceo of BBGA added that government officials and politicians required a greater understanding of business aviation, and that constant changes in taxation and regulation is harming the sector: "We have a discussion with a government department and then go back a few months later to find a completely new set of people and have to start all over again.
"They continue to impose new taxes - or bring us into existing tax regimes which did not apply before - which impact on the viability of our industry, especially in relation to other EU countries."
Representatives of the ACPO Terrorism and Allied Matters also discussed how border agencies could work more closely with industry to tackle terrorism, organised crime and other threats to the United Kingdom. Sean Gigg, communications manager at Border Force, called for greater coordination between the UK Border Force and the aviation industry to address this issue.
Richard Mumford and Daniel James, aviation specialists from law firm Stevens & Bolton, discussed charter contracts and grey areas, as well as business protection, internal fraud, bribery and corruption, and website cloning.
James Moreton, client assistant director of Hayward Aviation, spoke about insurance and potential liabilities for air charter brokers, highlighting the importance of obtaining information on operators prior to confirming a flight. Moreton provided a checklist that listed essential documents including a copy of a valid AOC (Air Operators Certificate) and aircraft insurance certificate.
