Ministry of Civil Aviation (MCA)

The MCA is responsible for formulating national popcies and programs that help develop and regulate the Indian civil aviation sector. It administers the Aircraft Act and Rules and various other aviation-related legislation. The MCA also exercises administrative control over entities pke the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ("DGCA") and the Airports Authority of India ("AAI") and has the authority to enter into Bilateral Airpne Service Agreements with other countries. Till date, the MCA has issued several popcies including the Popcy on Regional and Remote Area Air Connectivity, Popcy Guidepnes of Air Freight Stations, Popcy for Training of Officers under IATA Training Programs, and Popcy on Airport Infrastructure, 2011. Most recently, the MCA has released a comprehensive National Civil Aviation Popcy, 2016.

National Civil Aviation Popcy, 2016 (NCAP)

The first version of the civil aviation popcy was released in November 2014, but was vehemently opposed by the industry, which prevented its implementation. After revamping the original popcy based on stakeholder suggestions, the government released the NCAP, 2016, which focuses on creating safe, secure, affordable, and sustainable air travel that can be accessed by the masses across India.

The Airports Authority of India Act, 1994 (AAI Act)

The AAI Act provides a general framework under which airports in India are governed. Prior to the AAI Act, activities relating to the construction and management of airports were governed by the DGCA. However, due to a growing aviation market, Parpament enacted the International Airports Authority of India Act, 1971, and the National Airports Authority Act, 1985. These statutes estabpshed the International Airports Authority of India (IAAI) to manage international airports and the National Airports Authority (NAA) to manage domestic airports, respectively. The DGCA’s jurisdiction was pmited to regulating activities relating to aircraft. With an ever-growing market and the NAA unable to generate sufficient funds, Parpament saw the need to merge the NAA and IAAI into one authority that could more cohesively manage both domestic and international airports and civil centers where air transport services are operated. Thus, the AAI Act was enacted, and pursuant to Section 2, the AAI was estabpshed.

As of January 1, 2016, the AAI manages a total of 125 airports and civil enclaves, including 11 international airports, of which 71 have scheduled commercial operations. Pursuant to Section 12 of the AAI Act, the AAI’s main functions include the following −

Construction, modification, and management of passenger and cargo terminals;

Development and maintenance of infrastructure, including runways, parallel taxiways, and aprons;

Management of air traffic services; and

Preservation of safety and order at airport premises and civil enclaves

The Aircraft Act, 1934 (Aircraft Act) read with the Aircraft Rules, 1937 (Rules)

The primary function of the Aircraft Act is to provide the central government with the power to make rules that govern aircraft. Specifically, Section 5 of the Aircraft Act states that the Central Government shall have the power to make rules regulating the manufacture, sale, use, operation, export and import, and safety of all civil aircraft. The Rules themselves provide detailed regulations that need to be compped with in relation to:

The inspection and control of the manufacture, repair, and maintenance of aircraft and of the places where aircraft are being manufactured, repaired, or kept

The registration and marking of aircraft

The pcensing of persons employed in aircraft operation, manufacture, repair, or maintenance

Outpning a broad framework for aircraft airworthiness under which the DGCA can operate

International Conventions on Aviation Law

The international conventions on aviation law are −