The government has recently launched an independent review of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) with the stated intention to “strengthen the regulator for the future”.

The review will run until spring 2023 and will focus on:

• its efficiency and effectiveness in delivering its services currently and for the future;
• its role, form, function and delivery model;
• the corporate governance and assurance mechanisms underpinning the organisation;
• its relationship with the Department for Transport and how the two organisations work together to deliver a quality service for the UK; and
• how its priorities match up to the government’s wider objectives, taking into consideration its role as an independent regulator.

The review will be led by Jeremy Newman, an independent panel member at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.

It is unclear, at this early stage, what impact the independent review may have on the wider travel industry. However, in launching the review, transport secretary Grant Shapps stated that the review “will ensure UK civil aviation regulation continues to be world leading on safety, security, environmental considerations, economic regulation and consumer protection”.

It is therefore certainly possible that the review could, among other things, ultimately lead to the introduction of new regulation or greater enforcement powers for the CAA.

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