Policing and Crime Act 2009

Territorial Extent and Application

Part 7 – Aviation Security

Section 80 Policing at airports and Schedule 6 Amendment of Part 3 of the Aviation Security Act 1982

Paragraphs 6-9 of Schedule 6 Amendment of Part 3 of the Aviation Security Act 1982

490.Sections 26-29 of the ASA are amended by the provisions in paragraphs 6 to 9 of the Schedule.

491.Section 26(1) of the ASA currently provides that a relevant police constable is entitled to enter any part of a designated airport. Section 26(2A) sets out the matters which the chief officer of police must take into account when making arrangements for the policing of the airport. Section 26(2B) requires the manager of the aerodrome to make payments to the police authority in accordance with the terms of a PSA. Section 26(2C) provides that, in the event of there being no PSA in force, the aerodrome manager must make payments to the police authority in respect of costs reasonably incurred by the authority in connection with the policing provided for the aerodrome. However, the aerodrome manager is not required to pay for policing services for which funding from alternative sources has been provided.

492.Paragraph 6(1) to (4) of Schedule 6 amends those provisions so that they apply to all relevant aerodromes (as defined by the new section 25AA) and are consistent with the new arrangements for security planning at airports.

493.Paragraph 6(6) also inserts a new section 26(2CA). This draws a distinction between the position of aerodromes that were designated immediately before the commencement of the new provisions and other aerodromes. In the absence of a police services agreement, aerodromes which were designated will continue to be required to make payments to reimburse the police authority for costs that have been reasonably incurred in connection with the policing provided at the aerodrome. For aerodromes that were not designated, the requirement to reimburse the police authority for any dedicated policing services provided at that aerodrome will not apply until 15 months after the commencement of the provisions (three months after the time when the aerodrome is required to have an ASP).

494.Sections 27, 28 and 29 of the ASA do not specifically relate to security planning at aerodromes but instead relate to prevention of theft, byelaws and the control of road traffic at designated airports. The amendments made by paragraphs 7 to 9 ensure that these provisions will in future apply to all relevant aerodromes (as defined by the new section 25AA).