Glossary

National Private Pilot Licence (NPPL)

A UK national licence. The NPPL(A) allows non-commercial flights, including cost sharing, with no more than four people on board and MTOM up to 2,000 kg.

Also called: NPPL, NPPL(A)

ANO 2016 Schedule 8 sets the privileges of the National Private Pilot's Licence (Aeroplanes), substituted from 1 October 2025. The holder is entitled:

(a) in accordance with the remainder of this paragraph, to fly for the purposes of non-commercial operations as pilot in command of any aeroplane for which a class rating is included in the licence provided that the total number of persons carried (including the pilot) does not exceed four, and the maximum certified take-off mass of the aeroplane does not exceed 2,000 kg;

Sub-paragraph (1)(d) allows flight "for the purpose of commercial operation where the excepted flights condition is met", which links to the cost sharing derogation in Article 6(4a). Under (1)(e), passengers may be carried only if the recent experience condition or exception is met. The minimum age is 17.

So an NPPL(A) holder can share costs, but with no more than four people on board, including the pilot, rather than the general limit of six. In a microlight aeroplane, the design limit of two persons will be the tighter constraint.

Source: ANO 2016, Sch. 8 Pt 1 Ch. 3

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