AVIATION AUTHORITIES

AVIATION AUTHORITIES

ICAO(International Civil Aviation Organization)

ICAO is the International Civil Aviation Organization, a specialized agency of United Nations. It was created after the Convention on International Civil Aviation(Chicago Convention) of 1944 was ratified in 1947.

ICAO  is was founded to set up international standards in aviation. When international air travel became more and more present (1947) there was a need have international regulations. The ICAO counts 191 member states and all have to adopt their guidelines or advice the ICAO of regional differences, which will then published by the ICAO.

Purpose of ICAO:

ICAO's aims and objectives, as stated in the Chicago Convention, are to foster the planning and development of international air transport so as to ensure the safe and orderly growth of international civil aviation throughout the world; encourage the arts of aircraft design and operation for peaceful purposes; encourage the development of airways, airports, and air navigation facilities for international civil aviation; meet the needs of the peoples of the world for safe, regular, efficient, and economical air transport; prevent economic waste caused by unreasonable competition; ensure that the rights of contracting states are fully respected and that every contracting state has a fair opportunity to operate international airlines; avoid discrimination between contracting states; promote safety of flight in international air navigation; and promote generally the development of all aspects of international civil aeronautics.

 IATA(International Air Transport Association)

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the trade association for the world’s airlines, representing some 275 airlines or 83% of total air traffic.They support many areas of aviation activity and help formulate industry policy on critical aviation issues.

IATA is an independent body sponsored by and designed to serve and represent the airline travel industry. It has become an important body for raising standards in the industry through agreements, training and information. Over more than 65 years, IATA has developed the commercial standards that built a global industry. Today, IATA mission is to represent, lead and serve the airline industry.

 Its members comprise over 230 airlines including the world's leading passenger and cargo airlines and representing about 93% of scheduled international air traffic.

***The difference between IATA and ICAO is that ICAO is a specialized agency of United Nations but IATA is a trade association. Simply, governments can be a member of ICAO but airlines can be a member of IATA.***

 FAA( The Federal Aviation Administration)

The Federal Aviation Administration is the aviation authority of the United States of America. It is responsible for setting up the federal aviation regulations (FAR), which are binding for all flight operations in the US. The FAA also provides air traffic control service at most control towers and all en-route air traffic control centers.

The Federal Aviation Administration's major roles include: Regulating U.S. commercial space transportation Regulating air navigation facilities' geometry and Flight inspection standards Encouraging and developing civil aeronautics, including new aviation technology Issuing, suspending, or revoking pilot certificates Regulating civil aviation to promote safety, especially through local offices called Flight Standards District Offices Developing and operating a system of air traffic control and navigation for both civil and military aircraft Researching and developing the National Airspace System and civil aeronautics Developing and carrying out programs to control aircraft noise and other environmental effects of civil aviation.

JAA (Joint Aviation Authorities)

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

 This cooperation was intended to provide high and consistent standards of safety and a "level playing field" for competition in Europe. Much emphasis was placed on harmonising the JAA regulations with those of the USA. The JAA Membership was based on signing the "JAA Arrangements" document originally signed by the then current Member States in Cyprus in 1990. 

Based on these Arrangements and related commitments, the JAA's objectives and functions may be summarised as follows: Aviation safety (through Aviation Safety Agency "EASA"), business effectiveness (contribution to an efficient civil aviation industry), consolidation of common standards, and international cooperation. The JAA started as the Joint Airworthiness Authorities in 1970. Originally, its objectives were to produce common certification codes for large airplanes and for engines in order to meet the needs of European industry and international consortia (e.g., Airbus). After 1987 its work was extended to operations, maintenance, licensing and certification/design standards for all classes of aircraft.

EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency)

EASA is the European Union Authority for aviation safety. The main activities of the organisation include the strategy and safety management, the certification of aviation products and the oversight of approved organisations and EU Member States. Established in 2002, EASA enjoys over 10 years in operation. The Agency staff is composed of more than 700 aviation experts and administrators from all EU Member States. The headquarters are in Cologne (Germany) with an office in Brussels and 3 international permanent representations in Washington (USA), Montreal (Canada) and Beijing (China).

EASA enjoys technical, financial and legal autonomy to ensure the highest common level of safety protection for EU citizens within the EU and worldwide, to ensure the highest common level of environmental protection, to avoid duplication in the regulatory and certification processes among Member States and to facilitate the creation of an internal EU aviation market.

EASA also plays a leading role within the EU External Aviation Policy: the Agency is a strong counterpart of other Aviation Authorities outside the EU (e.g. USA, Canada, Brazil) and a major contributor to the export of the EU aviation standards worldwide, in order to promote the free movement of EU aeronautical products, professionals and services throughout the world.