Govt proposes draft aircraft bill to simplify regulations
The Draft Aircraft Bill, 2023 has been issued by the ministry for public consultations for a period of 30 days.
New Delhi: The Union ministry of civil aviation has issued a draft bill with an aim to provide a simplified approach for regulations pertaining to the aviation sector to meet the current needs and to remove redundancies in the aircraft law of 1934.
The Draft Aircraft Bill, 2023, which has been prepared after reviewing the existing Aircraft Act, 1934, has been issued by the ministry for public consultations for a period of 30 days, said an official communication dated May 30.
The preamble to the draft bill stated that it aims to have an Act to make better provisions for regulation and control of the design, manufacture, possession, use, operation, sale, import and export of aircraft and for connected matters, and to remove the redundancies in the 1934 law.
Also Read: Health ministry tells OTTs to carry anti-tobacco warnings
“The existing Aircraft Act, 1934 has been reviewed and accordingly a bill providing for regulating provisions in a simplified manner, identifying existing redundancies and to provide for provisions to meet the current needs for regulation of civil aviation in a simplified language...,” the ministry said.
Citing the very dynamic nature of the civil aviation sector, experts welcomed the government’s move to bring a draft bill.
“Indian Aircraft Act was passed by British Parliament in 1934 stipulating rules and regulations… while major specific regulatory changes in the civil aviation sector were introduced after the Chicago Convention 1944,” said aviation expert Vipul Saxena.
“Aviation sector is very dynamic in terms of technology, administration and regulations as newer situations emerge very often, which are not covered under any legislation,” he said. “Therefore, the Draft Bill 2023 is well defined document than Aircraft Act, 1934, giving enough powers to administer the regulatory role to statutory body, such as the DGCA [Directorate General of Civil Aviation], meeting regulatory challenges in current scenarios.”