Cabinet skips Civil Aviation Authority Bill

The amendments include appointing a joint secretary of the aviation ministry as a member on the CAA board and increase the amount of penalties that the authority would be authorised to levy. The authority will be headed by a chairman, assisted by a CEO and a board of five directors of who at least three will be aviation experts.

The CAA is set to replace the current aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and will go a long way in getting back the Category I status for India’s regulator. Last month, the US regulator Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) downgraded India to Category II due to the country not being able to fulfill the norms required to ensure safe air operations in the country.