Air regulations: Aircraft Act, Aircraft Rules and CARs

In short

Indian civil aviation runs on a three-tier legal structure: a parent Act passed by Parliament, Rules framed under it by the Central Government, and Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) issued by the DGCA as the detailed operating standard. The parent Act is now the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024 (BVA 2024), which received assent on 11 December 2024 and replaced the Aircraft Act, 1934; the Aircraft Rules, 1937 continue in force (saved by the repeal-and-savings provision) until replaced, so exam questions still cite Rule numbers from 1937. Every licence, medical, training endorsement, airworthiness certificate and airline permit a B.Sc Aviation graduate will ever hold is traceable to a specific Rule and a specific CAR. This topic is examined in air-law papers, DGCA ground-subject Air Regulations, and is asked at interviews by IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, Akasa, airport operators and MRO organisations.

Explained

The legal hierarchy, top to bottom

1. Chicago Convention, 1944 — the international treaty; India is a founder signatory and ICAO contracting State. ICAO issues 19 Annexes of Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs). SARPs are not law in India by themselves.
2. Act of Parliament — Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024 (earlier the Aircraft Act, 1934). Gives the Central Government power to make rules, creates offences and penalties, and recognises the three regulators by statute.
3. Rules — statutory, made by the Central Government and notified in the Gazette: Aircraft Rules, 1937 plus subject-specific rule sets (Aircraft Security Rules, 2023; Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017; Aircraft (Carriage of Dangerous Goods) Rules, 2003; Aircraft (Demolition of Obstructions) Rules, 1994).
4. CARs — Civil Aviation Requirements issued by the DGCA under Rule 133A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. Mandatory and enforceable; this is the layer that changes most often.
5. Advisory / information material — Aeronautical Information Circulars (AICs), DGCA Air Safety Circulars, Operations Circulars, AIP India (published by AAI), NOTAMs. Guidance, except where a Rule or CAR makes compliance compulsory.
6. Rule of thumb for exams: *Act = power and penalty; Rules = statutory obligation; CAR = how exactly to comply.* A CAR cannot override a Rule, and a Rule cannot override the Act.

Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024 — what it does and what changed

• Purpose: to regulate the design, manufacture, maintenance, possession, use, operation, sale, import and export of aircraft, and to give effect to the Chicago Convention.
• Statutory recognition of three regulators — this is the headline change from the 1934 Act, where only the DGCA existed administratively:
  • DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) — safety regulation: certification, licensing, airworthiness, surveillance, enforcement.
  • BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) — aviation security standards (ICAO Annex 17).
  • AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) — independent accident and serious-incident investigation (ICAO Annex 13).
  • All three function under the Ministry of Civil Aviation; an appeal lies to a designated appellate authority and then to the Central Government.
• Design certification brought expressly within the Act's scope, supporting indigenous aircraft design and type certification.
• Rule-making powers retained over licensing of personnel, airworthiness, air transport services, aerodromes, carriage of arms/explosives/dangerous goods, investigation of accidents, and the Aircraft Rules' penal provisions.
• Emergency powers continue: Government may, by notification, prohibit or regulate flight over any area in the interest of public safety or tranquillity, and may detain aircraft.
• Penalties and the compounding of offences are in the Act; note that the maximum fines were raised and several offences made compoundable. Exact figures per offence vary by section — name the offence rather than guess the amount.
• Savings: rules, CARs, licences, certificates and approvals issued under the 1934 Act remain valid as if issued under BVA 2024. So the Aircraft Rules, 1937 are still the operative rule book.

Aircraft Rules, 1937 — the Rules a student must know by number

• Structure: Parts I to XIV plus Schedules; the Schedules carry the licence tables.
• Part II — General conditions of flying: Rule 7 nationality and registration marks; Rules 8–13 and 15 registration, Certificate of Registration (CoR); Rule 14 reporting of change in ownership.
• Rule 15A / Part IIIA — airworthiness: Rule 15 and Part III cover the Certificate of Airworthiness (C of A), validity, categories and the mandatory Certificate of Flight Release / Certificate of Maintenance regime.
• Rule 19 — DGCA's power to cancel, suspend or endorse a licence or certificate; Rule 19A — power to suspend provisionally pending inquiry.
• Rule 21 — carriage of arms; Rule 22 — carriage of explosives/munitions of war; Rule 24A/24B and the Dangerous Goods Rules, 2003 — dangerous goods.
• Rule 23 — unauthorised photography from aircraft requires permission.
• Rule 24 — no person shall act as a member of the flight crew of an Indian-registered aircraft without a valid licence issued or rendered valid under these Rules; flight-crew licence categories are listed in Schedule II.
• Rule 28 / 29 — issue, renewal and validity of licences and ratings; Rule 39B/39C — medical fitness and examination by DGCA-approved examiners (Class 1 for CPL/ATPL, Class 2 for SPL/PPL).
• Rule 38 — safety of aircraft and persons: no person shall operate an aircraft in a careless or negligent manner so as to endanger life or property. The catch-all charging rule.
• Rule 24(2)/Rule 43 family — flight duty time limitations (now elaborated in CAR Section 7 Series J).
• Rule 41 / 41A — the pilot-in-command's responsibility and authority; Rule 42 — consumption of alcohol/psychoactive substances (breath-analyser regime; detailed in CAR Section 5 Series F).
• Rule 46 / 46A — flight crew to comply with air traffic instructions; Rule 78 — aerodrome licensing (no aerodrome to be used as a regular place of landing and departure unless licensed).
• Rule 57A/57B — Air Traffic Services and the obligation to follow the Air Traffic Services rules.
• Rule 133A — the enabling rule: *the Director-General may issue Civil Aviation Requirements, not inconsistent with these Rules, and every person shall comply with them.*
• Rule 134 — penalties for contravention of specified rules; Rule 161 — power to exempt.
• Caution for exams: Rule numbers have been amended, renumbered and inserted over 85 years. Cite the rule by subject and number only where sure; otherwise name the subject.

CARs — Sections, Series and how to read a CAR reference

• A CAR is cited as Section — Series — Part, e.g. *CAR Section 7, Series J, Part III*. Learn the Sections:

• Within a Section, Series are lettered A, B, C… and Parts numbered I, II, III… Frequently quoted ones:
  • Section 2, Series F / Series E — approval of maintenance organisations and continuing airworthiness management.
  • Section 3, Series C, Part II — requirements for a Scheduled Air Transport Service permit (fleet, equity, maintenance arrangement).
  • Section 3, Series M, Part IV — passenger facilities: denied boarding, cancellation and delay compensation.
  • Section 5, Series F — pre-flight breath-analyser examination for alcohol.
  • Section 7, Series B, Part I/II — CPL/ATPL and type-rating requirements; Series D — approved training organisations (FTOs).
  • Section 7, Series J, Part III — Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) and fatigue management. India's FDTL was revised with a phased strengthening of the weekly rest and night-duty definition from 2024–25; quote the principle rather than a number you are unsure of.
  • Section 8, Series O — all-weather operations / low-visibility procedures; Section 8, Series C — operations manuals.
  • Section 9 — RPAS was earlier handled by CAR Section 3 Series X; drones are now governed by the Drone Rules, 2021 (as amended) rather than that CAR.
• How a CAR is made: DGCA drafts → circulated as a draft CAR for comments → issued under Rule 133A with an issue number, revision number and effective date → superseded revisions are withdrawn. Always check the revision number and date on the cover page.

Licensing under the Rules and CARs — the practical chain

• Schedule II, Aircraft Rules 1937 lists the flight-crew licences: SPL (Student Pilot Licence), PPL, CPL, ATPL, Flight Engineer, Flight Navigator, Flight Radio Telephone Operator (FRTOL), Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME), plus ratings (aircraft rating, instrument rating, instructor rating).
• Typical CPL requirements (CAR Section 7, Series B): minimum age 18; 10+2 with Physics and Mathematics; Class 1 medical; 200 hours total flight time with prescribed minima of PIC, cross-country, night and instrument time; passes in DGCA ground subjects (Air Regulations, Air Navigation, Aviation Meteorology, Technical General and Technical Specific); FRTOL; skill test. ATPL requires 1,500 hours and age 21. Hour minima are revised periodically — treat them as the DGCA-published values of the day.
• Validity: licences are issued for a fixed period and renewed on continued medical fitness and recency (specified landings/hours in the preceding period); ratings have their own currency requirements.
• Enforcement ladder: warning → Enforcement Information Report (EIR) → show cause → suspension/cancellation under Rule 19 → prosecution under the Act. Alcohol-positive and breath-test-refusal cases follow a defined escalating suspension under CAR Section 5 Series F.
• Mandatory occurrence reporting: incidents and defects are reported to DGCA under Rule 77A and the Air Safety Circulars; accidents and serious incidents go to the AAIB under the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017, which follow ICAO Annex 13 — the objective is prevention, not apportioning blame or liability.

Other statutes and bodies that sit alongside

• Airports Authority of India Act, 1994 — AAI manages airports and Indian airspace air navigation services; publishes AIP India, NOTAMs and AICs.
• AERA Act, 2008 — Airports Economic Regulatory Authority fixes tariffs at major airports.
• Carriage by Air Act, 1972 — gives effect to the Warsaw/Hague and Montreal Convention, 1999 rules on carrier liability for passengers, baggage and cargo (limits expressed in SDRs and revised periodically).
• Tokyo (1963), Hague (1970), Montreal (1971) Conventions — implemented through the Tokyo Convention Act, 1975, the Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016 (death penalty possible) and the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982 (amended 2020).
• Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 — statutory basis for BCAS security programmes, AVSEC training, airport entry permits and screening.
• Drone Rules, 2021 — UAS registration on the Digital Sky platform, Unique Identification Number, Remote Pilot Certificate, and the green/yellow/red airspace zone map.
• Aircraft (Demolition of Obstructions caused by Buildings and Trees etc.) Rules, 1994 and the colour-coded zonal map / NOC regime for height clearance around aerodromes.
• The Protection of Aircraft and Airport Rules / Aircraft (Carriage of Dangerous Goods) Rules, 2003 implement ICAO Annex 18 and the ICAO Technical Instructions; IATA DGR is the industry manual.

Advantages and limitations of the three-tier design

• Advantages: Parliament sets policy rarely; Rules give statutory force with Gazette notification; CARs let the DGCA match fast-moving ICAO SARPs without amending law. Enforcement is graded, so a minor lapse does not need prosecution.
• Limitations: the Aircraft Rules, 1937 are heavily patched and hard to read; CARs multiply and cross-refer, so the current revision is easy to miss; a CAR issued under Rule 133A can be challenged if inconsistent with a Rule; ICAO differences filed by India mean the Annex and Indian practice are not always identical (differences are listed in the AIP GEN section).

Key points

• BVA 2024 - Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, assented 11 December 2024, replaced the Aircraft Act, 1934 as the parent aviation statute.
• Savings clause - rules, CARs, licences and certificates under the 1934 Act continue; the Aircraft Rules, 1937 remain the operative rule book.
• Three statutory regulators - DGCA (safety), BCAS (security), AAIB (investigation), all under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
• Rule 133A - the enabling provision under which every CAR is issued; it also makes compliance with a CAR mandatory.
• Rule 24 - no one may act as flight crew of an Indian-registered aircraft without a valid licence; Schedule II lists the licences.
• Rule 38 - the careless/negligent operation rule; the general safety charging provision.
• Rule 19 / 19A - DGCA's power to suspend or cancel a licence, including provisionally pending inquiry.
• Rule 23 - aerial photography needs prior permission; Rules 21/22 - arms and explosives.
• CAR citation - Section, Series, Part, with issue and revision date; always verify the latest revision.
• CAR Section 7 - flight crew licensing and training; Series J Part III is FDTL.
• CAR Section 3 Series M Part IV - passenger rights on denied boarding, cancellation and delay.
• CAR Section 5 Series F - pre-flight and post-incident breath-analyser testing for alcohol.
• Annex 13 / AAIB Rules 2017 - investigation is for prevention only, not to assign blame or liability.
• Annex 17 / Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 - BCAS security programme, AVSEC training, airport entry permits.
• CPL - age 18, Class 1 medical, 200 hours, five DGCA ground subjects, FRTOL; ATPL - age 21, 1,500 hours.
• AIP India, AIC, NOTAM - AAI-published aeronautical information; advisory unless a Rule or CAR mandates it.
• ICAO differences - where India's practice differs from a SARP, the difference is notified and published in AIP GEN.
• Drone Rules, 2021 - separate regime with UIN, Remote Pilot Certificate and Digital Sky zone map.

Formulas and examples

• Worked example 1 — CPL hour shortfall. A trainee has logged 168 h total, of which 72 h PIC including 18 h cross-country PIC and 4 h night. CPL needs 200 h total.
  • Shortfall on total time = 200 − 168 = 32 h still to fly.
  • PIC requirement (commonly 100 h PIC under CAR Section 7 Series B) → shortfall = 100 − 72 = 28 h PIC.
  • So at least 28 of the remaining 32 hours must be flown as PIC, leaving only 4 h that may be dual or instrument/night with an instructor. Night and instrument minima must be met inside that window, so the plan is tight — fly the night and instrument exercises as PIC where the CAR allows.
• Worked example 2 — which instrument governs? A scheduled operator wants to reduce the cabin-crew-to-passenger ratio below the prescribed figure.
  • Step 1: The ratio is set in a CAR under Section 7/Section 8 (crew standards/operations), issued under Rule 133A.
  • Step 2: A CAR is mandatory, so the operator cannot simply deviate.
  • Step 3: The route is an exemption — DGCA's power under Rule 161 (and the exemption clause of the CAR itself), granted in writing, for stated conditions and a stated period.
  • Answer: not an internal management decision; a written DGCA exemption, or no change.
• Worked example 3 — delay compensation (CAR Section 3 Series M Part IV). A passenger holding a confirmed ticket on a domestic flight is denied boarding because the flight is overbooked, and the airline puts them on an alternate flight departing 5 hours later.
  • Step 1: Was an alternate offered within 1 hour of the original departure? No → compensation is payable.
  • Step 2: The CAR's scale is based on the one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, with a cap, and a higher band when the alternate is more than 24 hours later.
  • Step 3: Flight cancelled with less than two weeks' notice and no alternate within 2 hours of the original → refund plus compensation.
  • The rupee caps in this CAR are revised by DGCA from time to time, so compute from the CAR revision in force rather than a remembered figure.
• Worked example 4 — alcohol check. A first officer reports for a 0600 departure; the pre-flight breath-analyser reads positive.
  • Step 1: CAR Section 5 Series F requires pre-flight BA testing of operating crew; a positive reading means the crew member is removed from the flight immediately.
  • Step 2: The operator reports the case to DGCA; the licence is dealt with under Rule 19 read with the CAR's escalating suspension scale (first, second and third detections attract progressively longer suspension, the third being the most severe).
  • Step 3: Refusal to undergo the test is treated the same as a positive result.
  • Step 4: Independently, operating an aircraft under the influence can attract penal action under the Act and Rule 38.
• Comparison table — the three layers in practice:

Where it is used

• Airline flight operations and crew scheduling: rostering within FDTL (CAR Section 7 Series J), licence and medical currency tracking, operations manual amendments — IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, Akasa, SpiceJet.
• Flight training organisations: DGCA-approved FTOs — IGRUA at Fursatganj (Amethi, Uttar Pradesh), NFTI at Gondia, and others at Belagavi, Amravati etc. — run syllabi, exams and trainee records strictly to CAR Section 7 Series D.
• Airworthiness and MRO: AME licence privileges, C of A and Certificate of Release to Service, Airworthiness Directives and Service Bulletins — Air India Engineering Services, AIESL, Indamer, GMR Aero Technic.
• Airport operations and security: aerodrome licensing (Rule 78 and CAR Section 4), BCAS AVSEC training and airport entry permits, obstruction/height NOC under the 1994 Rules — AAI, DIAL, MIAL, BIAL, Adani Airports.
• Regulatory, safety and compliance roles: DGCA Air Safety Officers, airline Safety Management System and quality teams, mandatory occurrence reporting, AAIB investigation support.
• Commercial and legal: scheduled/non-scheduled permits under CAR Section 3 Series C, passenger-rights claims under Series M, carrier liability claims under the Carriage by Air Act, 1972 and the Montreal Convention.

Interview questions

• Q: Which Act governs civil aviation in India today? A: The Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, which replaced the Aircraft Act, 1934; the Aircraft Rules, 1937 continue in force under its savings provision.
• Q: Under what authority does the DGCA issue a CAR? A: Rule 133A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, which empowers the Director General to issue Civil Aviation Requirements consistent with the Rules and makes compliance mandatory.
• Q: Is a CAR legally binding or only advisory? A: Binding — it is issued under a statutory rule. Advisory material is in Aeronautical Information Circulars and DGCA circulars.
• Q: What was the main change the 2024 Act brought? A: It gave statutory recognition to the DGCA, BCAS and AAIB, brought aircraft *design* expressly within scope, and revised penalties and appeals.
• Q: Which Rule prohibits flying an aircraft carelessly or negligently? A: Rule 38 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 — the general safety provision used when no specific rule fits.
• Q: Where are the flight crew licences listed? A: Schedule II of the Aircraft Rules, 1937; Rule 24 makes holding a valid licence compulsory for flight crew of an Indian-registered aircraft.
• Q: What does a CAR reference like "Section 7, Series J, Part III" mean? A: Section 7 is flight crew standards, Series J is flight duty time limitations, Part III is the specific part — and the issue/revision date on the cover tells you whether it is current.
• Q: Who investigates an accident in India, and for what purpose? A: The AAIB, under the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017, following ICAO Annex 13 — solely to prevent recurrence, not to apportion blame or liability.
• Q: Are ICAO Annexes directly enforceable in India? A: No. They become enforceable when adopted into the Aircraft Rules or a CAR; where India cannot comply, it files a difference, published in AIP India GEN.
• Q: An operator wants to deviate from a CAR requirement. What is the correct route? A: Apply to the DGCA for a written exemption under the Rules' exemption power and the CAR's own exemption clause — a deviation without it is a contravention.
• Q: Who is BCAS and what does it regulate? A: The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security — aviation security standards under ICAO Annex 17 and the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023, covering screening, AVSEC training and airport entry permits.
• Q: If a licence is in date but the Class 1 medical has expired, can the pilot fly? A: No — the licence is not valid for exercise of its privileges unless the medical assessment and recency requirements are also current.
• Q: Which law covers drone operations? A: The Drone Rules, 2021 as amended, with UIN registration and a Remote Pilot Certificate on the Digital Sky platform, not the earlier CAR for RPAS.

Common mistakes

• Writing that the "Aircraft Act, 1934" is the current Act — it has been replaced by the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024; name it as the former Act.
• Assuming the Aircraft Rules, 1937 were repealed along with the 1934 Act — they were saved and are still the operative rules.
• Treating a CAR as mere guidance, or confusing a CAR with an Aeronautical Information Circular or an AIP entry.
• Quoting an old CAR revision or an old licence hour figure without checking the issue/revision date — CARs and FDTL limits are revised frequently.
• Saying the AAIB investigation decides liability or punishes the crew — it is a no-blame, prevention-only process under Annex 13.
• Confusing the roles: DGCA is safety, BCAS is security, AAI is service provider and airport/ANS operator, AERA is economic tariffs.
• Claiming ICAO Annexes apply automatically in India, or forgetting that India files published differences.
• Inventing precise Rule numbers or penalty amounts under pressure — name the subject of the Rule when the number is uncertain.

Related topics

Air traffic control and airspace classification · Radio telephony and the FRTOL licence · Airport operations: terminal, airside and landside · Aviation security and BCAS · Aviation meteorology · Human factors and crew resource management