National aviation authority

A national aviation authority (NAA) or civil aviation authority is a government statutory authority in each country that oversees the approval and regulation of civil aviation.

Role

Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, a NAA's typically regulate the following critical aspects of aircraft airworthiness and their operation:

Design of aircraft, engines, airborne equipment and ground-based equipment affecting flight safety
Conditions of manufacture and test of aircraft and equipment
Maintenance of aircraft and equipment
Operation of aircraft and equipment
Licensing of pilots and maintenance engineers
Licensing of airports and navigational aids
Standards for air traffic control

Depending on the legal system of the parent country, a NAA will derive its power 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.^[1]^[2]

A NAA 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 (ATSB) in Australia or the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States), to allow independent review of regulatory oversight.^[3]

A NAA will regulate the control of air traffic but a separate agency will generally carry out air traffic control functions.

In some countries the national aviation authorities build and operate airports, including non-airside operations such as passenger terminals; the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines is one such national authority. In other countries either private companies or local government authorities own and operate individual airports.

History

The independent development of NAAs resulted in differing regulations from country to country. This required aircraft manufacturers in the past to develop different models for specific NAA requirements (such as the BAe Jetstream 31), and impeded airline travel into foreign jurisdictions. The Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention) was signed in 1944 and addressed these issues. This then led to the establishment by the United Nations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 1947 which now oversees member states, and works to implement regulatory changes to ensure that best practice regulations are adopted.^[4] A European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), with regulatory and executive tasks in the field of civilian aviation safety, was created in 2003. It is not a national authority as such, and European Union members continue to have their own agencies.

References

Commercial air travel

Airlines	Airline codes Airline holding companies Charter airlines Low-cost airlines Passenger airlines Regional airlines

Alliances	Oneworld SkyTeam Star Alliance

Trade groups	International (ACO ATAG IATA IATAN ISTAT) United States (A4A RAA) Europe (AEA EBAA ELFAA ERA) Other regions (AACO AAPA AFRAA RAAA)

Aircrew	Captain First Officer Second Officer Third Officer Flight attendant Flight engineer Loadmaster Pilot Purser Deadheading

Airliner	Travel class First class (aviation) First class travel Business Premium economy Economy Aircraft cabin Aircraft lavatory Aircraft seat map Airline meal Airline seat Buy on board Crew rest compartment In-flight entertainment Inflight smoking Galley Sickness bag

Airport	Aerodrome Airline hub Airport check-in Airport lounge Airport rail link Airport terminal Airstair Boarding Domestic airport Gate International airport Jet bridge Low cost carrier terminal Runway Transit hotel

Customs / Immigration	Arrival card (Landing card) Border control Departure card Passport Timatic Travel document Visa

Environmental impact	Hypermobility Impact on environment

Law	Air transport agreement (Bermuda Agreement (UK-US, 1946-78) · Bermuda II Agreement (UK-US, 1978-2008) · China-US · Cross-Strait charter (China-Taiwan)) Beijing Convention Cape Town Treaty Chicago Convention Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives Flight permit Freedoms of the air Hague Hijacking Convention Hague Protocol ICAO Montreal Convention Open skies (EU–US Open Skies Agreement) Paris Convention of 1919 Rome Convention Sabotage Convention Tokyo Convention Warsaw Convention

Luggage	Bag tag Baggage allowance Baggage carousel Baggage cart Baggage reclaim Baggage handler Baggage handling system Checked baggage Hand luggage Lost luggage Luggage lock

Safety	Air Navigation and Transport Act Air rage Air traffic control (ATC) Aircraft safety card Airport authority Airport crash tender Airport police Airport security Brace position Evacuation slide Flight recorder National aviation authority Overwing exits Pre-flight safety demonstration Sky marshal Unruly aircraft passenger

Ticketing	Airline booking ploys Airline reservations system Airline ticket Airline timetable Bereavement flight Boarding pass Codeshare agreement Continent pass Electronic ticket Fare basis code Flight cancellation and delay Frequent-flyer program Government contract flight One-way travel Open-jaw ticket Passenger name record Red-eye flight Round-the-world ticket Standby Tracking Travel agency Travel website

Groundcrew	Aircraft maintenance technician Aircraft ground handler Baggage handler Flight dispatcher

Miscellaneous	Mile high club

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National aviation authority

Role

History

See also

References