(1) There shall be established in accordance with the provisions of the Schedule to this Act an Air Transport Licensing Board (in this Act referred to as “the Board”) with the general duty of exercising their functions under this Act in such a manner as to further the development of British civil aviation.
(2) No aircraft shall be used on any flight for reward or in connection with any trade or business except under and in accordance with the terms—
(a) of such certificate, if any, (in this Act referred to as an “air operator's certificate” as any Order in Council for the time being in force under section eight of the Civil Aviation Act, 1949, may require the operator of the aircraft to hold for the purposes of such flights as that in question, being a certificate of his competence to secure that aircraft operated by him on such flights are operated safely; and
(b) subject to subsection (3) of this section, of a licence granted to the operator of the aircraft by the Board under section two of this Act (in this Act referred to as an “air service licence”), being a licence authorising the operator to operate aircraft on such flights as that in question.
(3) The Minister may by regulations provide that paragraph (b) of the last foregoing subsection shall not apply to flights of such descriptions as may be specified in the regulations, and may by instrument in writing exempt from the requirements of the said paragraph (b) any other particular flight or series of flights.
(4) This section shall apply to—
(a) any flight in any part of the world by an aircraft registered in the United Kingdom; and
(b) any flight beginning or ending in the United Kingdom by an aircraft registered in such other country or territory, if any, as may be prescribed.