A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational

statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example re ...

that oversees the regulation of

civil aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work ...

, including the maintenance of an aircraft register.

Role

Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, national aviation authorities typically regulate the following critical aspects of

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or by using the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in ...

airworthiness In aviation, airworthiness is the measure of an aircraft's suitability for safe flight. Initial airworthiness is demonstrated by a certificate of airworthiness issued by the civil aviation authority in the state in which the aircraft is register ...

and their operation: * design of aircraft, engines, airborne equipment and ground-based equipment affecting flight safety * conditions of manufacture and testing of aircraft and equipment * maintenance of aircraft and equipment * operation of aircraft and equipment * licensing of pilots, air traffic controllers, flight dispatchers and maintenance engineers * licensing of airports and navigational aids * standards for

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...

. Depending on the

legal system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history an ...

of the jurisdiction, a CAA will derive its powers from an act of parliament (such as the Civil or Federal Aviation Act), and is then empowered to make regulations within the bounds of the act. This allows technical aspects of airworthiness to be dealt with by subject matter experts and not politicians. A CAA may also be involved in the investigation of aircraft accidents, although in many cases this is left to a separate body (such as the

Australian Transport Safety Bureau The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is Australia's national transport safety investigator. The ATSB is the federal government body responsible for investigating transport-related accidents and incidents within Australia. It covers air ...

(ATSB) in Australia or the

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...

(NTSB) in the United States), to allow independent review of regulatory oversight. A CAA will regulate the control of air traffic but a separate agency will generally carry out

functions. In some countries a CAA may build and operate

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

s, including non-

airside An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

operations such as passenger terminals; the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and the

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP, ; fil, Pangasiwaan sa Abyasyong Sibil ng Pilipinas) is the civil aviation authority of the Philippines and is responsible for implementing policies on civil aviation to assure safe, econo ...

being among such authorities. In other countries, private companies or local government authorities may own and operate individual airports.

History

The independent development of CAAs resulted in differing regulations from country to country. This required aircraft manufacturers in the past to develop different models for specific national requirements (such as the

BAe Jetstream 31 The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin- turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the ''Jetstream 31'' from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the Britis ...

), and impeded airline travel into foreign jurisdictions. The

Convention on International Civil Aviation The Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, established the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations charged with coordinating international air trave ...

(Chicago Convention) was signed in 1944 and addressed these issues. This then led to the establishment by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

of the

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

(ICAO) in 1947 which now oversees member states, and works to implement regulatory changes to ensure that

best practice A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to other known alternatives because it often produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or because it has become a standard way of doing ...

regulations are adopted.ICAO ICAO'S Aims
/ref> The

Joint Aviation Authorities The Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) was an associated body of the European Civil Aviation Conference representing the civil aviation regulatory authorities of a number of European States who had agreed to co-operate in developing and implemen ...

(JAA) was founded in 1970, for cooperation between European CAAs. It published the

, to create minimum standards across agencies. It was disbanded in 2009. The

European Aviation Safety Agency The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monito ...

(EASA) was created in 2003, replacing the Joint Aviation Authorities. It standardises aviation regulations across the European Union and the European Free Trade Association. Member states continue to have their own agencies, which implement EASA rules. EASA has working relationships with non-member states including Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

List of civil aviation authorities

This is a list of national and supra-national civil aviation authorities.

References

External links

International civil aviation regulatory & government agencies

More civil aviation authorities

Free Aviation Dictionary

International Society of Air Safety Investigators
(Government Air Safety Investigators Group Directory) {{Commercial air travel Civil aviation authorities Aviation law Lists of aviation organizations hr:Agencija za civilno zrakoplovstvo

Role

History

List of civil aviation authorities

See also

References

External links