New regulator to replace DGCA

The Union government is planning a new aviation regulator to replace the present Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). To facilitate formation of the new aviation regulator a bill is likely to be tabled in the Parliament in the next part of the Budget Session starting later this month.

Unlike DGCA, the new regulator will have full operational and financial autonomy. The bill would establish the new regulator, to be called the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which would replace the DGCA and administer and regulate civil aviation safety and managing safety oversight over air transport operators, air service navigation operators and operators of other civil aviation facilities.

The proposed CAA, like the DGCA, would also deal with matters relating to financial stress on safety of air operations, as witnessed in connection with the closure of the bankrupt Kingfisher Airlines in October last year.

The draft legislation sayd issues relating to consumer protection and environment regulations in civil aviation sector would also be addressed by the CAA. The CAA is being established by the government to meet the standards set by the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and in line with aviation regulators in other countries like the US Federal Aviation Administration and UK’s CAA, the sources said.