Civil Aviation Act 2012

16 Refusing to grant licence

(1) The CAA may refuse to grant a licence for an airport area if—

(a) the CAA considers that the applicant is not the operator of the area and is not likely to become the operator of the area,

(b) the area is not a dominant area (or part of a dominant area) and the CAA considers that it is not likely to become a dominant area (or part of a dominant area),

(c) the airport at which the area is located is not a dominant airport and the CAA considers that it is not likely to become a dominant airport,

(d) the applicant is a person falling within subsection (2), or

(e) the applicant is connected to a person falling within subsection (2).

(2) A person falls within this subsection if—

(a) the person has previously held a licence in respect of the airport area that is the subject of the application or an area that included all or part of that airport area, and

(b) the licence was revoked in accordance with a relevant provision of the licence.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b) a provision is a relevant provision of the licence if it states that revocation of the licence entirely or partly in reliance on that provision is relevant for the purposes of this section.

(4) Before refusing to grant a licence, the CAA must—

(a) publish a notice in relation to the proposed refusal,

(b) send a copy of the notice to the persons listed in subsection (5), and

(c) consider any representations about the proposed refusal that are made in the period specified in the notice (and not withdrawn).

(5) Those persons are—

(a) the applicant for the licence, and

(b) such bodies representing airport operators or providers of air transport services as the CAA considers appropriate.

(6) A notice under subsection (4) must—

(a) state that the CAA proposes to refuse to grant the licence,

(b) specify the airport area in respect of which the application was made,

(c) specify the airport at which the area is located, and

(d) give the CAA’s reasons for the proposed refusal.

(7) The period specified in the notice must be a period of not less than 30 days beginning with the day on which the notice is published.

(8) The CAA may withdraw a notice under subsection (4) at any time.

(9) If, after complying with subsections (4) to (7), the CAA decides to refuse to grant the licence, it must—

(a) publish a notice of its decision, and

(b) send a copy of the notice to the persons listed in subsection (5).

(10) A notice under subsection (9) must—

(a) specify the airport area in respect of which the application was made,

(b) specify the airport at which the area is located, and

(c) give the CAA’s reasons for the refusal.