The Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2013

Operation of radio in aircraft

82.—(1) A radio station in an aircraft must not be operated, whether or not the aircraft is in flight, except in accordance with the conditions of the licence issued for that radio station under the law of the country in which the aircraft is registered or the State of the operator and by a person duly licensed or otherwise permitted to operate the radio station under that law.

(2) Whenever an aircraft is in flight in such circumstances that it is required by or under this Order to be equipped with radio communication equipment, a continuous radio watch must be maintained by a member of the flight crew listening to the signals transmitted on the frequency notified or designated for use by that aircraft by a message received from an appropriate aeronautical radio station.

(3) The radio watch referred to in paragraph (2)—

(a) may be discontinued or continued on another frequency if a message from an appropriate aeronautical radio station permits this; or

(b) may be kept by a device installed in the aircraft if—

(i) the appropriate aeronautical radio station has been informed to that effect and has raised no objection; and

(ii) that station is notified or, in the case of a station situated in a country other than the Territory, otherwise designated as transmitting a signal suitable for that purpose.

(4) Whenever an aircraft is in flight in such circumstances that it is required by or under this Order to be equipped with radio or radio navigation equipment, a member of the flight crew must operate that equipment in such a manner as instructed by the appropriate air traffic control unit or as may be notified in relation to any notified airspace in which the aircraft is flying.

(5) The radio station in an aircraft must not be operated so as to cause interference with, or impair the efficiency of, aeronautical telecommunications or navigational services, and in particular emissions must not be made except as follows—

(a) emissions of the class and frequency for the time being in use, in accordance with general international aeronautical practice, in the airspace in which the aircraft is flying;

(b) distress, urgency and safety messages and signals, in accordance with general international aeronautical practice;

(c) messages and signals relating to the flight of the aircraft, in accordance with general international aeronautical practice; and

(d) such public correspondence messages as may be permitted by or under the aircraft radio station licence referred to in paragraph (1).

(6) In any aircraft operating under instrument flight rules and in any flying machine registered in the Territory which is engaged on a flight for the purpose of commercial air transport, those flight crew members required to be on flight deck duty must not make use of a hand-held microphone (whether for the purpose of radio communication or of intercommunications within the aircraft) when below the transition altitude.