To Land Or Not To Land

Owners of licensed airfields have an onerous obligation to ensure that services provided to pilots are adequate, safe and reliable. There is little room for error. There is a general statutory and common law duty to maintain an airfield in a proper manner and to warn pilots of problems that may endanger safe operation to and from the airfield. It is trite that obstructions on runways and taxi ways should be properly marked. The owner of an airfield may discharge such duty in a number of ways. He may arrange for an entry in the AIP and, in addition thereto, request the CAA to issue a notam warning pilots of potential problems. Additionally, the owner of the airfield may be compelled to mark runways and taxi ways as unserviceable. The well known St. Andrew’s Cross would be familiar to many pilots. Failure to warn of potential hazardous and dangerous conditions may lead to legal liability on the part of the owner of the airfield.