Civil aviation authority


A civil aviation authority is a national or supranational statutory body that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, 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 airworthiness and their operation:
Depending on the legal system of the jurisdiction, a CAA will derive its powers from an act of parliament, 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 in Australia or the National Transportation Safety Board, to allow independent review of regulatory oversight.
A CAA will regulate the control of air traffic but a separate agency will generally carry out air traffic control functions.
In some countries a CAA may build and operate airports, including non-airside operations such as passenger terminals; the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines being among such authorities. In other countries, private companies or local government authorities may own and operate individual airports.
Civil aviation authorities do not regulate military aviation. Military aviation will typically have a completely separate personnel licensing system. In the United Kingdom, military aviation is regulated by the Military Aviation Authority.
The International Civil Aviation Organization refers to civil aviation authorities as National Airworthiness Authorities, particularly when referring to an authority in its capacity as an airworthiness authority; or sometimes as National Aviation Authorities. EASA refers to them as National Aviation Authorities.

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, and impeded airline travel into foreign jurisdictions. The Convention on International Civil Aviation was signed in 1944 and addressed these issues. This then led to the establishment by the United Nations of the International Civil Aviation Organization in 1947 which now oversees member states, and works to implement regulatory changes to ensure that best practice regulations are adopted.
The Joint Aviation Authorities was founded in 1970, for cooperation between European CAAs. It published the Joint Aviation Requirements, to create minimum standards across agencies. It was replaced by the European Aviation Safety Agency and disbanded in 2009.
The European [Aviation Safety Agency] was created in 2003 as an agency of the European Union, 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. It was renamed the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in 2018.

List of civil aviation authorities

This is a list of national and supra-national civil aviation authorities.
CountryAuthority name in EnglishAuthority name in local language

Website
United Nationsubl|Organisation de l'aviation civile internationale|Organización de Aviación Civil Internacional|Международная организация гражданской авиации|国际民用航空组织AFGURL|www.motca.gov.afALBlang\|sq|Autoriteti i Aviacionit Civil të ShqipërisëURL|www.aac.gov.alALGlang\|fr|Établissement de Gestion de Services Aéroportuaires d'Alger lang\|fr|Établissement Nationale de la Navigation Aérienne URL|http://www.egsa-alger.dzURL|http://www.enna.dzANGlang\|pt|Autoridade Nacional da Aviação CivilURL|https://www.anac.ao/ao/ARGlang\|es|Administración Nacional de Aviación CivilURL|www.anac.gov.arARMlang\|hy|Քաղաքացիական Ավիացիայի Գլխավոր ՎարչությունURL|http://www.aviation.am/ARUURL|www.dca.gov.awAUSURL|www.casa.gov.au/AUTlang\|de|Österreichische Gesellschaft für ZivilluftfahrtAZElang\|az|Azərbaycan Respublikasının Dövlət Mülki Aviasiya AgentliyiURL|http://www.caa.gov.az/BAHBHRlang\|ar|شئون الطيران المدنيURL|www.caa.gov.bhBANlang\|bn|বেসামরিক বিমান চলাচল কর্তৃপক্ষURL|www.caab.gov.bd/BARURL|http://bcad.gov.bb/BLRlang\|be|Департамент по авиацииURL|http://www.avia.by/BELlang\|fr|Service public fédéral Mobilité et Transportslang\|nl|Federale overheidsdienst Mobiliteit en VervoerURL|https://mobilit.belgium.be/fr/transport_aerien mobilit.belgium.be/fr/URL|https://mobilit.belgium.be/nl/luchtvaart mobilit.belgium.be/nl/BENlang\|fr|Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile du BéninURL|http://www.anac.bjBERURL|https://www.bcaa.bmBHUURL|www.bcaa.gov.btBOLlang\|es|Dirección General de Aeronáutica CivilURL|www.dgac.gob.boBIHlang\|sh|Bosna i Hercegovina Direkcija za civilno zrakoplovstvoURL|http://www.bhdca.gov.ba/eng/BOTURL|www.caab.co.bw/BRAlang\|pt|Agência Nacional de Aviação CivilURL|www.anac.gov.brBRUlang\|ms|Jabatan Penerbangan AwamURL|www.dca.gov.bnBULlang\|bg|Главна дирекция "Гражданска въздухоплавателна администрацияURL|www.caa.bgCAMlang\|km|រដ្ឋលេខាធិការដ្ឋានអាកាសចរស៊ីវិលURL|www.civilaviation.gov.khCMRURL|www.ccaa.aeroCANlang\|fr|Transports Canada Direction générale de l'aviation civileURL|www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/menu.htmURL|www.tc.gc.ca/fra/civilaviation/menu.htmCYMURL|www.caacayman.comCHIlang\|es|Dirección General de Aeronáutica CivilURL|www.dgac.gob.clCHNlang\|zh|中国民用航空局URL|www.caac.gov.cnCOLlang\|es|Unidad Administrativa Especial de Aeronáutica CivilURL|www.aerocivil.gov.coCOKURL|http://www.paso.aeroCRIlang\|es|Dirección General de Aviación Civil de Costa RicaURL|www.dgac.go.crCROlang\|hr|Hrvatska agencija za civilno zrakoplovstvoURL|www.ccaa.hrCUBlang\|es|Instituto de Aeronáutica Civil de CubaWebarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216114611/http://www.cubagob.cu/des_eco/iacc/home.htm |date=2008-12-16 CYPlang\|es|Τμήμα Πολιτικής ΑεροπορίαςURL|https://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/dca/dca.nsf/DMLindex_en/DMLindex_en?OpenDocumentCZElang\|cs|Úřad pro civilní letectví Česká republikaURL|http://www.caa.cz/en/index.phpDENlang\|da|TrafikstyrelsenURL|www.trafikstyrelsen.dkDOMlang\|es|Instituto Dominicano de Aviación CivilURL|www.idac.gov.doECUlang\|es|Dirección General de Aviación CivilURL|www.aviacioncivil.gob.ecEGYlang\|ar|وزارة الطيران المدنيURL|www.civilaviation.gov.egSLVlang\|es|Autoridad de Aviación CivilURL|www.aac.gob.svESTlang\|et|LennuametURL|https://www.transpordiamet.eeSWZURL|www.eswacaa.co.sz/ETHlang\|am|የኢትዮጵያ ሲቪል ኤቪዬሽን ባለሥልጣንURL|http://www.ecaa.gov.et/