Air Navigation Order 2016 (ANO)

CAP 1590 (guidance), para 6 explains that the cost sharing rules are "a derogation to the Assimilated Regulation (EU) No. 965/2012 ... and an exception to the UK Air Navigation Order 2016". Article 13, headed "Public transport and commercial operations – exceptions – cost sharing", opens:

13.—(1) A flight is a non-commercial flight if—

(a) there has been no valuable consideration or the only valuable consideration given or promised for the flight to the pilot by the passengers is a contribution to the direct costs of the flight otherwise payable by the pilot in command; and

(b) the criteria in paragraph (2) are satisfied.

Paragraphs (2) and (3), substituted and inserted from 1 October 2025, mirror NCO.GEN.102. The differences: the safety warning and records refer to "CAT or PT" standards, and an advert may be placed "by the pilot or operator of the flight".

Note that art. 13(1) covers flights with no valuable consideration as well, but still requires the paragraph (2) criteria. The text doesn't settle how that applies to a completely free flight, so the cautious approach is to meet the criteria anyway, including the passenger record.

The ANO also contains definitions used by both regimes (Authorised person, annual cost, direct costs and microlight aeroplane in Schedule 1), the UK licence privileges in Schedule 8, and the offences in art. 265 and Schedule 13.