Aviation Law and Legal Definition
Aviation law governs the operation of aircraft and the maintenance of aviation facilities. Both federal and state governments have enacted statutes and created administrative agencies to regulate air traffic, although the bulk of aviation law is federally based. States are prohibited from regulating rates, routes or services of any air carrier authorized under the Federal Aviation Act to provide interstate air transportation. States are not prohibited, however, from enacting consistent laws, or from altering existing remedies under state law.
The Federal Aviation Act was passed in 1958 establishing the Federal Aviation Agency. There have been several subsequent acts passed by the federal government regulating aviation such as the Airport and Airway Development Act of 1970 and the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978.
