The Civil Aviation Authority will no longer be able to randomly sample the criminal records of pilots, following a court decision.
The High Court ruled on Wednesday that sampling done under a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Justice is unlawful.
However, the judge has made it clear his ruling does not mean the authority is prohibited from obtaining access to pilots' criminal record information.
CAA director Steve Douglas will review the judgment and consider options available and says he is determined to act in a lawful and appropriate way.
Mr Douglas says access to information regarding conviction records is an essential element of monitoring safety.
