What you will know
Know what a person may not do on the movement area, on the apron and around the markers of an aerodrome — and why the same list appears twice, once for an aerodrome and once for an airport.
Before this lesson
- You can tell an aerodrome from an airport: the airport is the certificated one, and the airport certificate is what the second pair of sections attaches to. CAR 302.10
- You know what the movement area and the apron are, since the prohibitions are addressed to specific surfaces rather than to the aerodrome as a whole. CAR 301.08
- You know that you may be on an aerodrome without being its operator — which is the normal case for a remote pilot recovering an aircraft. CAR 301.08
How it works
1. Two parallel pairs, and the one thing the airport version adds
Subpart 1 of Part III governs aerodromes; Subpart 2 governs airports. Each has a Prohibitions section and a Fire Prevention section, and the two pairs say almost exactly the same thing: 301.08 and 301.09 at an aerodrome, 302.10 and 302.11 at an airport. CAR 301.08 CAR 301.09 CAR 302.10 CAR 302.11
What the airport version adds is at the front of its list, and it is about the operator rather than the visitor: no person shall operate an aerodrome that requires an airport certificate without one, or knowingly use an airport in a manner contrary to a condition in its certificate. CAR 302.10
2. "No person shall" — who is bound, and who may permit
Both prohibitions sections open with "No person shall". They are not addressed to the aerodrome operator, and a remote pilot standing on an apron is bound by them exactly as the operator is. The operator's role in these sections is the opposite one: it is the party whose permission can lawfully allow what would otherwise be prohibited. CAR 302.10
That distinction answers a recurring false statement: that section 302.10 binds only the operator of the airport. It binds everyone. CAR 302.10
3. The movement area: permission first, and lights at night
Paragraph 301.08(a) — and its twin 302.10(c) — prohibits walking, standing, driving a vehicle, parking a vehicle or aircraft, or causing an obstruction on the movement area, except in accordance with permission given by the operator, and, where applicable, by the appropriate air traffic services unit. Two permissions, not one. CAR 301.08 CAR 302.10
Leaving a remotely piloted aircraft standing on the movement area while you change a battery is therefore not a small thing: it is parking an aircraft on the movement area without permission. CAR 302.10
The night rules sit in the same section. An aircraft being towed on an active movement area at night must display operating wingtip, tail and anti-collision lights, or be illuminated by lights mounted on the towing vehicle; an aircraft parked or left on an active manoeuvring area at night must display those lights or be lit by lanterns suspended from its wingtips, tail and nose. CAR 301.08
4. Markers, lights and signals — prohibited from both sides
Three prohibitions protect what pilots on the ground and in the air read: CAR 301.08
| The prohibition | Where it applies |
|---|---|
| Knowingly remove, deface, extinguish or interfere with a marker, marking, light or signal used for air navigation | At an aerodrome or airport, except with permission from the operator and, where applicable, the ATS unit CAR 301.08 |
| Knowingly display a marker, marking, light or signal likely to make a person believe a place is an aerodrome | At a place other than an aerodrome CAR 301.08 |
| Knowingly display a marker, marking, sign, light or signal likely to be hazardous to aviation safety by causing glare, or by confusing or preventing clear perception of a required marker | At or in the vicinity of an aerodrome or airport CAR 302.10 |
The middle row is the one that catches film sets and props: setting up a windsock and a signal light in a field so that it reads as an aerodrome on camera is prohibited even though the field is nowhere near aviation. The third row is the one that catches an unshielded work light at night. CAR 301.08 CAR 302.10
5. Fire prevention on the apron, and the two permissions only the operator can give
No person shall, while at an aerodrome — or, at an airport — smoke or display an open flame: CAR 301.09 CAR 302.11
- on an apron;
- on an aircraft loading bridge, or on a gallery or balcony that is contiguous to or overhangs an apron; or
- in an area where smoking or an open flame is likely to create a fire hazard that could endanger persons or property. CAR 301.09
The prohibition is on the person, so holding a pilot certificate changes nothing about it — and the gallery overhanging the apron is named explicitly, which is why smoking on it is caught by the same paragraph as smoking on the apron itself. CAR 301.09
Two things the operator may do, and nobody else: authorize in writing maintenance or servicing operations on an apron that involve an open flame or the production or potential development of a spark, where they are conducted so as not to be likely to create a fire hazard; and permit smoking in an enclosed building or shelter on an apron, where that smoking is not likely to create a fire hazard. A remote pilot who satisfies himself that his spark-producing repair is safe has not given himself either permission. CAR 301.09 CAR 302.11
One small difference between the pairs: the airport section also lets the operator display flare pots for temporary lighting of a take-off or landing. CAR 302.11
6. The rest of the list, briefly
The same sections also prohibit, at an aerodrome or an airport: operating a vessel, or causing an obstruction, on the surface of a water area that is to be kept clear when ordered to leave by the ATS unit or the operator; allowing an owned or controlled bird or animal to be unrestrained within the boundaries, except to control other birds or animals as the operator permits; and discharging a firearm within or into the aerodrome without the operator's permission. CAR 301.08
Your checklist
| Subject | At an aerodrome | At an airport |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate conditions | — | Operate without a certificate; use contrary to a condition CAR 302.10 |
| Movement area | Permission required CAR 301.08 | Permission required CAR 302.10 |
| Tow or park at night | Lights, or lighting from the towing vehicle or lanterns CAR 301.08 | Same CAR 302.10 |
| Air-navigation markers and lights | Interference prohibited; fake aerodromes prohibited; glare prohibited CAR 301.08 | Interference prohibited; glare prohibited CAR 302.10 |
| Fire prevention | No smoking or open flame on an apron, a loading bridge or an overhanging gallery, or where it is a fire hazard CAR 301.09 | Same, plus flare pots permitted CAR 302.11 |
| Permissions | Operator, and where applicable the ATS unit CAR 301.08 | Operator, and where applicable the ATS unit CAR 302.10 |
- The prohibition binds every person, not just the aerodrome operator CAR 302.10
- Being on the movement area requires the operator's permission and, where applicable, the ATS unit's CAR 301.08
- Nothing may be displayed that reads as an aerodrome where there is none CAR 301.08
- Only the operator may authorize an open flame or sparks on an apron, and only in writing CAR 301.09
- Smoking is prohibited on the apron and on a gallery or balcony overhanging it CAR 301.09
Where people go wrong
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A question says the apron rules bind only the operator | Both sections open with "No person shall" | Apply them to every person CAR 302.10 |
| A permit to be on the movement area is assumed | The paragraph requires permission | Get it from the operator and, where applicable, the ATS unit CAR 301.08 |
| A spark-producing repair on the apron is self-approved | Only the operator may authorize it | Obtain the operator's written authorization CAR 301.09 |
| A gallery overlooking the apron is treated as outside the rule | The paragraph names it | Treat it as the apron CAR 301.09 |
| A prop aerodrome marker in a field is assumed to be harmless | Displaying it is prohibited where there is no aerodrome | Do not display it CAR 301.08 |
| The aerodrome sections are quoted for an airport | The list exists twice | Check whether the place is an aerodrome or an airport CAR 302.10 |
Test yourself
Sources
- CAR 301.08 — Prohibitions (aerodromes)
- CAR 301.09 — Fire Prevention (aerodromes)
- CAR 302.10 — Prohibitions (airports)
- CAR 302.11 — Fire Prevention (airports)