 The objective of regulation is to " promote high standards of safety in all aspects of aviation " , and this is the main area of interaction between the CAA and the GA sector . Efforts focus on assuring appropriate standards of airworthiness , pilot qualification , the rules for the movement of aircraft , and equipment to be carried . The CAA was established as the primary regulatory body for all aviation in the UK in 1972 . In 1991 it started working within the Joint Aviation Authorities ( <unk> ) framework to implement agreed common standards , known as the Joint Aviation <unk> ( JAR ) , throughout the European Union ( EU ) . In 2003 this was taken a step further when the European Aviation Safety Agency ( EASA ) was established as the central EU regulator , taking over responsibility for <unk> airworthiness and environmental regulation from the national authorities . The CAA acts as an agency of EASA on these issues , retaining its original regulatory powers in areas not yet transferred to EASA . Proposed developments seek to establish EASA as the single authority throughout the EU , taking over from individual member states the power to regulate all aviation other than that specifically excluded from the scope of EASA . 
