Airports Authority Act 1975

1 The British Airports Authority.

(1) There shall continue to be a body corporate called the British Airports Authority (in this Act referred to as ‘the Authority’) which shall manage the aerodromes at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Prestwick transferred to it by the Act of 1965, the aerodromes at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen acquired by it under that Act, and any other aerodrome provided or acquired by it under the following provisions of this Act.

(2) The Authority shall consist of a chairman, a deputy chairman and not more than eight nor less than four other members.

(3) The chairman shall be appointed by the Secretary of State, and the other members (including the deputy chairman) shall be appointed by the Secretary of State after consultation with the chairman.

(4) The chairman, deputy chairman and other members of the Authority shall be appointed from among persons who appear to the Secretary of State to have had wide experience of and to have shown capacity in air transport, other forms of transport, industry, commercial or financial matters, administration, the organisation of workers or the representation of the interests of consumers.

(5) The Secretary of State in appointing the members of the Authority shall ensure that there is at least one member of the Authority who has special knowledge and experience of the requirements and circumstances of Scotland.

(6)Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect as respects the Authority.

(7) It is hereby declared that the Authority is not to be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown, or as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown, or as exempt from any tax, duty, rate, levy or other charge whatsoever, whether general or local, and that its property is not to be regarded as property of, or property held on behalf of, the Crown.

2 The Authority's functions.

(1) It shall be the duty of the Authority to provide at its aerodromes such services and facilities as are in its opinion necessary or desirable for their operation, but the Authority shall not provide any navigation services except with the consent in writing of the Secretary of State.

(2) In carrying out that duty the Authority shall have regard to the development of air transport and to efficiency, economy and safety of operation.

(3) The Authority shall have power to do anything which is calculated to facilitate the discharge of its duties under this Act.

(4) Without prejudice to the generality of the preceding subsection, the Authority may provide, or acquire, or assume the management of, any aerodrome in Great Britain in addition to those transferred to or acquired by the Authority under the Act of 1965, but the Authority shall not exercise the powers described in this subsection without the consent in writing of the Secretary of State.

(5) Without prejudice to its powers apart from this subsection, the Authority shall have power to provide for any person technical advice or assistance, including research services, as respects any matter in which the Authority has skill or experience.

(6) The Authority shall not without the consent in writing of the Secretary of State discontinue the use of any aerodrome owned by it.

(7) The Secretary of State may, after consultation with the Authority, give to the Authority directions of a general character as to the exercise and performance by the Authority of its functions in relation to matters which appear to him to affect the national interest, and it shall be the duty of the Authority to give effect to any such directions.

(8) In the management and administration of any aerodrome the Authority shall provide for users of the aerodrome, for the local authorities in whose areas the aerodrome or any part thereof is situated, for other local authorities whose areas are in the neighbourhood of the aerodrome, and for other organisations representing the interests of persons concerned with the locality in which the aerodrome is situated adequate facilities for consultation with respect to matters affecting their interests, and shall, in doing so, give effect to any direction given to it by the Secretary of State.

(9) Any consent under this section may be given subject to such conditions as the Secretary of State thinks fit.

3 The Authority's financial duties.

(1) The Authority shall so conduct its business as to secure that its revenue is not less than sufficient for making provision for the meeting of charges properly chargeable to revenue, taking one year with another.

(2) The Authority, in framing and carrying out proposals involving substantial outlay on capital account, shall act on lines settled from time to time with the approval of the Secretary of State.

(3) Subject to subsection (6) below, the Authority shall charge to revenue in every year all charges which are proper to be made to revenue, including, in particular, proper provision for the depreciation or renewal of assets and proper allocations to general reserve, and the reference in subsection (1) above and other references in this Act to charges properly chargeable to revenue shall be construed accordingly.

(4) Without prejudice to the Authority's power to establish specific reserves, the Authority shall establish and maintain a general reserve.

(5) The management by the Authority of its general reserve, the sums to be carried from time to time to the credit thereof, and the application for the purposes of the Authority of the moneys comprised therein shall be as the Authority may determine:

Provided that the Secretary of State may, with the approval of the Treasury, give to the Authority directions as to any matter relating to the establishment or management of the general reserve or the carrying of sums to the credit thereof, or the application thereof for the purposes of the Authority, and the Authority shall comply with any such directions.

(6) The Authority may, with the consent of the Secretary of State given with the approval of the Treasury, make charges to capital account representing interest on expenditure of a capital nature, being interest for any period which ends at or before the time when the project to which the expenditure relates is completed.

(7) Any excess of the revenues of the Authority in any accounting year over the total sums properly chargeable by the Authority to revenue account for that year shall be applied by the Authority in such manner as the Secretary of State, with the approval of the Treasury and after consultation with the chairman of the Authority, may direct; and the direction may require the whole or any part of the excess to be paid to the Secretary of State.

(8) Any sums received by the Secretary of State under this section shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

4 The commencing capital debt.

(1) In this Act ‘the commencing capital debt’ means the debt which was assumed by the Authority on 1st April 1966 under section 4 of the Act of 1965 as a debt due to the Minister of Aviation and which was subsequently reduced under subsection (3) of that section to 52.91 million.

(2) The rate of interest payable on the commencing capital debt, the arrangements for paying off the principal and the other terms of the debt shall be such as the Secretary of State may with the approval of the Treasury from time to time determine.

(3) Any sums received by the Secretary of State by way of interest on, or repayment of, the commencing capital debt shall be paid into the National Loans Fund.

5 Borrowing by the Authority.

(1) Subject to the limit in subsection (4) below, the Authority may borrow temporarily, by way of overdraft or otherwise, in sterling or, with the consent of the Secretary of State (which shall require the approval of the Treasury), in currencies other than sterling, such sums as the Authority may require for meeting its obligations or discharging its functions under this Act; but the aggregate of the amounts outstanding in respect of any temporary loans raised by the Authority under this subsection shall not exceed such limit as the Secretary of State may for the time being have imposed on the Authority for the purposes of this subsection by a direction given to the Authority with the approval of the Treasury.

(2) Subject to the limit in subsection (4) below, the Authority may borrow, otherwise than by way of temporary loan—

(a ) in sterling from the Secretary of State; or

(b ) with the consent of the Secretary of State (which shall require the approval of the Treasury), in sterling from the Commission of the European Communities or from the European Investment Bank; or

(c ) with the consent of the Secretary of State (which shall require the approval of the Treasury), in any currency other than sterling from a person other than the Secretary of State,

such sums as the Authority may require for all or any of the purposes mentioned in the following subsection.

(3) The said purposes are—

(a ) for meeting any expenses properly chargeable to capital, being expenses incurred in connection with the provision or improvement of assets in connection with the business of the Authority;

(b ) for the provision of working capital;

(c ) for acquiring an undertaking or part of an undertaking;

(d ) for...