Have you ever wondered why we are required to observe so many restrictions before boarding a plane? Why are there luggage limitations and regulations that airport personnel and passengers must follow? Ever pondered over a flight permit?

Sometimes thinking about all this can make you stumble upon the term “aviation law” and once you start exploring this field, you get to know the things that you were oblivious to and your conscience would be smashed to the side of I-95.

Recently, air laws have resulted in massive economic growth across the world. Air passenger and freight transportation contributes to the growth of the national economy and tourism. The expansion of airports, planes, and air routes is connected to a country's development. Today, aviation is a significant national industry. The purpose of this article is to discuss the domestic application of air laws in India as air law is a component of modern international law, national aviation law is inextricably tied to international air law.

Let’s blow off the steam by defining Indian and International law...

Introduction
International law has developed to have an impact on our daily life, including economic, social, and cultural components. With the advancement and growth of international relations in many regions of the world, India's interest in international law has always been significant. This is apparent, for example, in a number of recent Supreme Court of India rulings in which it has been forced to refer to changes in international law. As a result, it is critical that not only attorneys, politicians, administrators, and academics have a solid grasp of the issue, but that the Judiciary become aware of the interaction between international law and local law and harmonise the application of both laws.

In this era of globalisation, the norms of international law apply to all governments, large and small, rich and poor, weak and powerful. Many of the structural changes that have occurred in the global economy since the early 1980s have resulted in the liberalisation of capital, labour, intellectual property rights, and other areas, which has strengthened dependency.

Previously, we solely dealt with national problems brought before several Indian courts, including the Supreme Court, as well as High Courts and District Courts. However, the comfort of dealing with merely Municipal Laws is quickly vanishing for our Courts in the future, as we now have to deal with problems that have worldwide aspects.

What Is Aviation Law?

Aviation law is simply law of air. Well, don’t mingle it with the laws of physics, air laws here are being addressed as the law that deals with flight and with all the legal issues that go along with it. The rationale and significance for aviation law stems from the globalisation and growing nature of human contact as we travel from the seas to the skies and beyond.

The corpus of regulations controlling the use of airspace and its advantages for aviation, the general public, and governments throughout the world is known as air law. Air law is concerned with the control of the world's airways. Air law encompasses a wide variety of legal issues, ranging from liability for harm caused during air carriage to tax and environmental legislation. The aviation industry is the only one that is not subject to the WTO.

In simple words, air law is "the system of regulations controlling the use of airspace and its advantages for aviation, the general public, and states throughout the world.[i]" Air law is concerned with the control of the world's airways. Air passenger and freight transportation contributes to the growth of the national economy and tourism. In most regions of the world, aviation is now a significant national industry.

Historical Background
The first commercial aircraft in India flew between Allahabad and Naini on February 18, 1911. The first commercial international flight in India, operated by the former Imperial Airways, took place in 1912, connecting Delhi to Karachi and beyond. J.R.D. Tata flew an air postal service aeroplane in 1932, following which Tata Airlines began scheduled air transport services. At the time of India's independence in 1947, the country had nine air transport businesses that carried both freight and people.

To further enhance the national aviation industry, the Government of India and Air India — Tata Airlines was renamed Air India in 1946 - established Air India International Ltd. as a joint venture. To address the poor financial health of India's civil aviation sector, the Government of India approved the Air Corporations Act of 1953, which nationalised all carriers operating in India's civil aviation business.

The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act of 2008 established the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA[ii]). Tariffs and other aeronautical costs are regulated by AERA, and airport performance criteria are monitored. AERA considers the following factors in the Indian context of airport regulation: Airports are natural monopolies; airports are public goods; in the case of both Brownfield and Greenfield airports, the Government of India has made land available for purchase to airport developers at a very cheap cost, frequently under the Land Acquisition Act.

India's Aviation Ties with Other Nations:
India now has bilateral Air Service Agreements (ASAs) with 108 nations. While 72 international airlines travel into and out of India, four private domestic carriers - Jet Air, IndiGo, SpiceJet17, and Kingfisher - fly to 35 destinations in 25 countries. Air India, the national airline, operates a number of overseas routes, including seven in North America, nine in Europe, 12 in the Gulf, two in the Middle East, two in Africa, and 13 in West and East Asia.

With a vast fleet of aircraft, India has a prominent role in the civil aviation market. In all, 56 airlines provide scheduled air flights to and via India, including 22 international carriers flying over Indian territory. The nation has about 450 airports and 1091 registered aircraft. In addition to the three public sector airlines - Air India, Indian Airlines, and Alliance Air - two private operators - Jet Airways and Sahara India Airlines - operate in India. In addition, there are 41 non-scheduled air transport providers. In addition, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has given NOC to 34 applicants for the establishment of non-scheduled air transport operations.

India has not been exempted to global trends. The liberalisation of the aviation sector began in 1986 and is still ongoing. Private airlines now have access to both international and domestic routes. Within the framework of bilateral air services agreements, India is liberalising its policies by providing international carriers increased traffic rights. India has proposed an open skies policy to ASEAN. In addition, India gave extra frequencies and landing places to SAARC countries. The open skies policy for international freight is still in effect. The rules governing foreign tourist charter flights has been relaxed.

Importance Of Implementation Of Aviation Law

You may be wondering, what areas does aviation law affect?
If you answer this by saying the pilots and airports, they you are definitely not looking on the other side of the coin. Aviation law outlines every facet of the industry, from how close to a pilot may land to how many air traffic controllers must operate in a tower at any given time.

On the commercial and security fronts, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) guidelines[iii] are a crucial impact in airline customers' flying experiences. Aviation legislation affects more than just pilots and airports. It discusses freight transportation, passenger behaviour, business regulation, and airline and charter structure.

It enables the ICAO member nations' obligations and rights. Above all, air law is profoundly concerned with modern civilizations' economic activity. Air law also provides a method for nations to collaborate based on sovereign equality, fairness, and equal opportunity.

When nations sharing a border need to collaborate or reach an agreement concerning the use of airspace or airports, they usually do so through ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a United Nations body. When military aircraft from multiple nations must collaborate or discuss mobilisation, the governments or armed forces involved normally work directly with one another.

Aviation Incidents That Pose Legal Issues:

The question at hand is generally who or what caused the accident and who is accountable for paying for the damages. However, this is frequently a difficult issue in aviation since virtually every significant disaster follows an "accident chain" in which numerous factors combine to generate the incident's circumstances.

Despite the fact that there are a lot of laws and regulations protecting the aviation sector in India, there are still a number of issues that require prompt action. Despite all of this, the Indian aviation sector is one of the wealthiest in the world, and the Indian government must make a concerted effort to enforce different international conventions.

Important Cases:
International Airport A.I. Officers Association v Union of India and Another, 2005 [iv]
A writ petition confronted the legal standing of Section 12(3)(r) of the Airport Authority of Indoa Act,1994 (subsequently referred to as 'AAI Act', as being contratry to the provisions of Sections 12(1) and 12(2) of the said AAI Act, whilst being ultra vires of Articles 14 and 12 of the Indian Constitution. The issues addressed were that whether the government is consider privatising some of the country's airports.

The Court stated: "The rule of construction is well known that when there are two provisions in an enactment that cannot be reconciled with one other, they should be read in such a way that, if feasible, effect is given to both." This is known as the harmonic construction rule.

The idea of harmonized construction is to give both provisions effect. With these principles in mind, it is legitimate to hold that Section 100(4) prescribed a one-year limitation period in regard of a scheme proposed under the relevant provisions Act, whereas in the case of a scheme proposed under Section 68-C of the old Act that was pending on the date of enforcement of the new Act, namely, July 1, 1989, the timeframe of one year prescribed under Section 100(4) should be computed from the date of commencement of the new Act. This reasoning would give full effect to both parts of the new Act, Section 100(4) and Section 217(2)(e).

The Act must be read as a whole, and one provision of the Act must be interpreted in light of other sections in the same Act in order to create a consistent enactment of the whole statute.
The clauses of the statutory provision should be construed well together so that the provisions of one section do not defeat those of another, unless reconciliation between the two sections is inconceivable.

Indian Airlines Limited v Prabha D. Kanan, Supreme Court of India, 10 November, 2006
In this case the Appellant No. 1 drafted regulations in 1994 in accordance with Act No. 13 of 1994. The Air Corporations (Transfer of Undertakings and Repeal) Act, 1994 (for short "the 1994 Act") was passed by Parliament, and it ceded the right, title, and interest of Indian Airlines to Indian Airlines Limited. The Corporation issued Regulations in accordance with Section 45 of the 1953 Act.

The issues raised was that the validity and/or legality of Regulation 13 of the Indian Airlines (Flying Crew) Service Regulations (for short "the Regulations") are at issue in these appeals, which stem from a decision and order issued by the High Court of Bombay on August 30, 2005 in Writ Petition No. 2030 of 2003.

The court ruled that, while Regulation 13 is not unconstitutional, it does not apply to Respondent. Furthermore, given the unusual events and circumstances of this case, as well as the fact that she had put in 20 years of service, the court determined that she should be reimbursed eight years' compensation for both past earnings and potential job loss. This will be based on her most recent basic salary and dearness allowance. The Corporation will reimburse Respondent the money she repaid to the provident fund and gratuity at the interest rate specified in the statutes regulating them.

Both appeals were granted in part and to the degree stated above. There are no fees.

In a case of judicial review, where no appeal against the penalty imposed on an employee is provided for, the High Court, in exercising its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution, would not limit its jurisdiction to the known tests laid down for such jurisdiction, namely, illegality, irrationality, and procedural impropriety. It must go further into the subject. It would necessitate a more thorough investigation.

NipaDhar (nee Ghosh) v National Aviation Company of India Limited and others,
Calcutta High Court, 10 December 2010[v],
This case dealt with the situation wherein the appellant began working as an Airhostess and later became a permanent employee of the respondent Company. Before terminating her service, the responsible authority did not take care of her other rights, which may have been accessible based on her confessed position of suffering from phobic fear about flying and a rise in body weight owing to an adverse response to medicine, in order to treat it. True, the right to labour is not a basic right, but once a person is assigned to a post/office, whether government or private, the right must be dealt with in accordance with the public aspect.

The issue raised were that is the writ application maintainable based on the stated factual premises and the legal questions raised. It was found that the writ is maintainable, and the Court determined that there was a violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution.

As a result, the termination order was set aside and quashed because it was not lawfully enforceable. The different papers provided throughout the hearing established that the appellant suffered from phobic fear in flying and was thus unable to undertake flying duties. As a result, the writ application was granted. As a result, the appeal was also granted.

Conclusion:
There have been several flight accidents that do pose as a question to the flight safety in India. DGCA is primarily responsible to deal with all the safety issues. DGCA has been targeted many times for lack of expertise and less training centres for the trainees. The majority of DGCA safety audits (ICAO-December 2012; FAA-September 2013) have identified the same problems [vi].

According to me, these issues are required to be addressed. So may it be direct or not , aviation law does have an impact on our lives and this sector has much scope of growth in it.
We hope that our readers make the best out of the information provided and strive for something productive as to their sky there’s no need for a flight permit !!

End-Notes:

1. Domestic Implication of International Air Law EU,UK and USA by V. Balakista Reddy
2. Section 3, The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008
3. The Importance of Aviation Law by Tamu Smith-Kohls
4. AIR 2006 Delhi 46
5. SCC Online
6. Civil Aviation in India - Key Recommendations By R.K. Yadav