UK CAA publishes a consultation reply on legislation for new VTOL aircraft

The UK Civil Aviation Authority published CAP 3318, "Consultation Reply Document: Legislation for new types of Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft." The catalogue page lists version 1, status Current, and a version date of 28-Oct-2026. This account uses Part A, the overview. The catalogue page also lists Parts B through E. Those files were not used here. Part A says it summarises the feedback and the CAA's proposed way forward. A consultation reply is not law.

The catalogue page's own summary says the earlier consultations were set out in CAP2367A-E. Part A says those consultations were published as a package of five documents, CAP 3267 A-E, on 28 May 2026, covering Complex Motor-Powered Aircraft (CMPA), continuing airworthiness, pilot licensing and flight operations. This page uses the number printed in Part A. Part A says the package followed an initial consultation (CAP 3186) and a consultation reply (CAP 3240) on policy frameworks. Those earlier documents were not opened for this account.

What Part A says the government and the CAA are aiming at

Part A says the UK Government has set an objective to see piloted "eVTOL" operations in the UK from 2028, and that it has established the Future of Flight programme to help deliver that objective. That is a government objective. Part A says the CAA's eVTOL Delivery Model (CAP 3169) set out an ambition to implement the regulatory framework and operational systems required to enable initial commercial passenger operations by the end of 2028. That is an ambition the reply attributes to CAP 3169. Part A was not a copy of CAP 3169, and this page did not open CAP 3169.

A later sentence in Part A is different. It says the work described in the next steps will enable the CAA to meet its objective of having the regulatory framework and operational systems for commercial eVTOL operations in place by the end of 2028. That is the CAA's objective for the framework and the systems. It is not the same sentence as the CAP 3169 ambition for initial commercial passenger operations. Neither date is a start of commercial service, and neither is a certificate.

Responses

Part A says the CAA received 15 responses, from 12 organisations and 3 individuals. It says organisational respondents included aircraft manufacturers, operators, public bodies and academic institutions. It says that across all 49 consultation questions, 82% of responses strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the proposals, 4% neither agreed nor disagreed, and 14% somewhat disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Two categories, and a definition the CAA now recommends

Part A says that during the consultation the CAA decided the definitions it had proposed, Powered Lift, Helicopter and Non-Conventional Helicopter, do not capture every foreseeable VTOL design. It says the CAA will instead be recommending a term and definition, Multicopter, to replace the proposed Non-Conventional Helicopter term and definition. Alongside Powered Lift, Part A says, this would create two distinct VTOL categories, based on the primary method of generating lift. "Recommending" and "would create" are the document's words. They are not a statute.

Part A gives these definitions:

• Powered Lift: "A heavier-than-air aircraft capable of vertical take-off, vertical landing, and low-speed flight, which depends principally on engine-driven lift devices or engine thrust for lift during these flight regimes and on non-rotating aerofoil(s) for lift during horizontal flight."
• Multicopter: "A helicopter supported in flight chiefly by the reactions of the air with more than two power-driven rotors on substantially vertical axis."

Complex motor-powered aircraft, continuing airworthiness, licensing and operations

Part A says the CAA intends to proceed with its policy that new VTOL aircraft will be classified as CMPA by default, with a discretionary route for an aircraft to be treated as non-CMPA. It says the existing 600 kg maximum-take-off-mass threshold associated with Non-Conventional Helicopters will be removed, and a common discretionary threshold of 1200 kg will be adopted for both Powered Lift and Multicopter aircraft. It also says the CAA has decided to amend the proposed operational criteria, alleviating certain requirements, so the aircraft can be used for recreational training. That is a described change to the proposal. Part A does not set out the amended criterion in full in the overview.

On continuing airworthiness, Part A says the CAA intends to apply the current continuing-airworthiness framework and requirements to Powered-Lift and Multicopters, and that it intends to proceed with the proposed framework. "Intends" is not an amendment that has been made.

On pilot licensing, Part A says the CAA proposes to remove prescriptive cross-category flight-hour prerequisites in FCL.720.PL and to introduce operationally dependent instrument-rating and multi-crew cooperation requirements. It says aircraft-specific experience requirements and prerequisites for an initial Powered-Lift type rating will be determined through Operational Suitability Data under Part-21. That is a proposed method for setting prerequisites. It is not a licence, and it is not a type certificate.

On flight operations, Part A says the CAA intends to proceed broadly as proposed. The outcomes it lists include flight-data-monitoring requirements for applicable aircraft certified to SC-VTOL, operations from operating sites using a framework aligned with the established helicopter approach while accounting for powered-lift characteristics, and a regulatory framework for battery charging, battery swapping and other energy replenishment. Those are described outcomes of the reply. They are not operating permissions for any aircraft.

What happens next, as Part A states it

Part A says that in due course the CAA will publish its finalised proposals in an opinion and instruction document. It says that, depending on the passage and final form of the Civil Aviation Bill, the changes may be progressed using powers conferred on the CAA by that legislation, or through a Statutory Instrument facilitated by the Department for Transport. It says that after those changes the CAA will consult further on proposed changes to Acceptable Means of Compliance, with final changes implemented alongside legislative change. No date is given for the opinion, the bill or the instrument. "In due course" is not a date.

What is not established

CAP 3318 is a consultation reply. It is not law, and Part A is not final rule text. No commencement date is stated. The end-of-2028 formulations are an ambition Part A attributes to CAP 3169 and an objective Part A states for the framework and operational systems. They are not a start date for commercial flights. No aircraft is certificated by this document. A design organisation approval, a permit to fly and a type-certification application are not discussed here as issued type certificates. This page did not open Parts B, C, D or E, so it does not treat Part A's summary as a substitute for those files.

Sources

• UK CAA: CAP 3318 catalogue page (version date 28 Oct 2026)
• UK CAA: CAP 3318A, Consultation reply, Part A overview (PDF, first published October 2026)