The CAA was established in 1972, under the terms of the Civil Aviation Act 1972, following the recommendations of a government committee chaired by Sir Ronald Edwards. Previously, regulation of aviation was the responsibility of the Department of Transport. The current main Act of Parliament regulating aviation in the UK is the Civil Aviation Act 1982. Responsibility for air traffic control in the UK passed to NATS in the run-up to the establishment of its public-private partnership in 2001.
The CAA employs just over 1,000 staff, mainly in two offices, CAA House in Kingsway, Holborn in London and Aviation House, next to London Gatwick Airport. It does not get any direct government funding, but runs entirely on subscriptions from its member companies. It is classed as a public corporation in the public sector. The connnection it has with the government is via the Machinery of Government and Standards Group of the Cabinet Office.
The CAA directly or indirectly regulates all aspects of aviation in the UK. In some aspects of aviation it is the primary regulator, in other areas, where the responsibility for regulation has passed to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the CAA acts as EASA's local office, implementing the regulations. Representatives from the CAA sit on EASA's advisory bodies, taking part in the Europe-wide regulation process.
The CAA's responsibilities include:
- Flight Crew, Aircraft Engineer and Air Traffic Controller licensing;
- Medical regulation of safety-critical aviation personnel;
- Licensing of aerodromes and other aviation facilities;
- Maintaining the UK register of aircraft;
- Licensing of aircraft;
- Regulation of aircraft airworthiness and related engineering functions;
- Economic regulation, including the regulation of monopoly and near-monopoly organisations involved in the provision of aviation services (for example National Air Traffic Services and BAA Limited), as well as regulating aviation-related organisations operating in a competitive marketplace (for example UK-based airlines);
- Development of aviation policy, both within the UK and Europe-wide
