Aviation law covers all aspects of aviation, including cargo and passenger transportation, recreational flying, and airspace protocol. The FAA administers aviation law in the US, while international aviation law is established through agreements such as the Montreal Convention and the ICAO. Licensing, maintenance, passenger behavior, and insurance are all regulated by aviation law. The ICAO provides standards for all UN signatories, including accident investigation, messaging, passports, and registration numbers.
The Aviation Act covers the entire domain of aviation, including the transportation of cargo and passengers, recreational flying, and airspace protocol. This type of law often shares ground with international law and even civil law. In the United States, aviation law is administered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Many other nations have similar regulatory bodies, while international aviation law is established through signed agreements such as the Montreal Convention and international bodies such as the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Aviation law is a relatively new branch of legal regulation. With practical aviation only truly becoming possible during the 20th century, ideas about regulation, international cooperation, and jurisdiction remain fairly new concepts. The FAA is one of the oldest aviation law bodies in the world, established first through the Air Commerce Act in 20 and officially through the Federal Aviation Agency Act of 1926. As other nations have adopted federal aviation policies, the creation of groups international organizations such as the ICAO have enabled a forum for aviation law disputes and negotiations on a global basis.
An important component of aviation legislation includes rules and regulations for the licensing of pilots. Using license cards, aspiring pilots are able to reach new levels of certification through training programs, test flights and exams. An established licensing procedure helps keep everyone safe in the air by ensuring that all pilots have met minimum safety and training requirements. With similar goals, many aviation law guidelines include maintenance requirements for every type of aircraft.
The behavior and treatment of passengers is also a source of aviation law. Because passengers can pose safety risks on board aircraft, their behavior is often restricted by law. Laws prohibiting smoking or the use of certain electronic devices aboard an aircraft are typically statutes mandated by aviation legislative bodies such as the FAA. Because passengers are also a potential liability, some aviation law agreements, such as the Montreal Convention, regulate the minimum amount of insurance an airline must carry for each passenger on board a flight.
ICAO helps clarify international aviation legal issues by providing standards that must be followed by all UN signatories. This includes an accident investigation protocol, standardized methods of messaging between airports and international carriers, and even standardized passports that can reduce customs hassles for passengers. ICAO also helps keep order in the aviation world by issuing globally used aircraft registration numbers and standardized abbreviations for airports and carriers.
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