Civil Aviation Authority
 Civil Aviation Authority     | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | CAA |
| Parent organization | Department for Transport |
| Headquarters | Gatwick Airport, London, UK |
| Oversees and regulates civil aviation in the United Kingdom. | |
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the statutory corporation under the Department for Transport which oversees and regulates civil aviation in the United Kingdom.
Surveillance drones
The BBC announced in 2015 that, as part of the "war on terror", the UK Police would take over responsibility for monitoring of drones from the Civil Aviation Authority, noting that "Counter-terrorism officers are also concerned about the publicity extremists could gain if they flew a flag or banner over a prominent central London location".[1]
History
CAA was established by Parliament in 1972 and was initially involved in airspace control and as the aviation control authority for civil aviation.
After aviation control was handed over to the National Air Traffic Services, the authority is entrusted with legislative tasks in particular, i.e. the creation and monitoring of economic regulations for aircraft operators, safety regulations and customer protection. It currently employs around 1000 people in two branches.
The CAA is self-financing through its revenues, particularly fees, making it one of the few agencies in the UK that is not funded through tax revenue.
Air accidents are investigated by another authority, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.
