Westward Ballooning Ltd

1. Who We Are Westward Ballooning Ltd ("we", "us", or "our") is a commercial hot air balloon operator registered in the United Kingdom (Declaring Operator Reference: UK.DBO.520). We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal data when you book a flight, participate in our flight operations or tethered displays, visit our website, or interact with us.

2. The Data We Collect We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity & Contact Data: Full name, postal address, email address, and telephone number.

Operational Flight Data: Individual passenger weights (in kg), required strictly to perform mandatory UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) mass and balance safety calculations prior to launch.

Media & Marketing Data: Photographs and video footage captured during inflation, flight, or landing phases, processed strictly with your knowledge and consent.

Corporate Booking Data: Guest information provided to us by corporate partners (such as event sponsors or commercial brand partners) for passenger manifest compilation.

We do not collect special category personal data (e.g., detailed medical history, political beliefs, or biometric identification data).

3. How We Use Your Personal Data We use your personal data for the following lawful purposes:

To Fulfill Our Contract: Processing bookings, issuing vouchers, communicating weather/flight status updates, and delivering commercial flight operations.

To Comply with Aviation Law: Meeting mandatory UK CAA safety regulations, compiling technical log sector record pages, and maintaining passenger flight manifests.

With Your Consent: Providing you with in-flight souvenir photos/videos and featuring promotional footage in marketing materials.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases to process your information:

Contractual Necessity: To perform the contract entered into when you book a flight.

Legal Obligation: To comply with statutory UK CAA requirements under the Air Navigation Order and CAA Declared Balloon Operator rules.

Consent: Where you have explicitly agreed to receive marketing communications or have consented to the capture and use of flight photography and video.

5. Data Sharing & Third Parties We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties. We may share limited personal information with trusted entities only where necessary:

Aviation & Statutory Authorities: UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) or Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) if legally mandated.

Corporate Clients: Returning verified passenger manifests to corporate booking partners where flights are arranged as part of a corporate campaign or event.

IT & Service Providers: Secure UK-based cloud hosting, email, and administrative infrastructure operating under strict confidentiality agreements.

6. Data Security & Storage Location We implement appropriate technical and organisational security controls, including multi-factor authentication, role-based access restrictions to prevent unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure.

7. Data Retention We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected:

Passenger Flight Manifests & Technical Logs: Retained in accordance with statutory UK CAA aviation record-keeping rules.

Marketing & Media: Retained until consent is withdrawn or the media asset is retired.

Upon expiry of statutory retention periods, physical records are securely cross-cut shredded and digital records are permanently erased.

8. Your Legal Rights Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.

Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data where there is no legal obligation for us to retain it.

Withdraw Consent: Withdraw your consent for marketing or photography processing at any time.

Object / Restrict: Object to or request restriction of processing in specific circumstances.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below.

9. Contact Us & Complaints If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact our Data Protection Lead:

Email: [email protected]

Company: Westward Ballooning Ltd

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK supervisory authority:

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Website: www.ico.org.uk