The Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") is the element of the U.S. government with primary responsibility for the safety of civil aviation. As part of the federal Department of Transportation, the FAA monitors most daily aspects of flying aircraft and airport operations. In reality, this focuses most heavily on air traffic controls.
Mission of the Federal Aviation Administration
The FAA's mission is divided into several parts:
Aircraft safety of virtually all manufacturers and airlines
Airport operations in almost all regional airports
Certifications and licenses of aircraft personnel and pilots
Regulations and policies, including supervision of incoming foreign flights
The FAA also develops policies and publishes major research findings regarding air traffic safety. The numbers and data about flight systems that the FAA must handle are enormous. The data includes cases of “unruly” passengers, information on late or lost luggage, plane delays, safety maintenance and more. Because of their lead role in collecting and crunching air traffic numbers, the FAA also must make presentations to Congress ahead of budget requests.
Abilities of the Federal Aviation Administration
The FAA must make predictions about how many people will be using existing airport systems, and how to plan ahead for growth at airports. The FAA has the ability to license individual private pilots, as well as strictly monitor the actions of all commercial flight activity (meaning companies that carry passengers and cargo). The FAA also maintains a large labor union of air traffic controllers.
Because it is often the first contact with airlines, the FAA has been given the power to recommend (but not demand) fines and penalties for possible safety violations. These are called “enforcement actions,” and the recommended fines range widely, from hundreds, to millions of dollars.
The FAA is also separate from, and technically independent of, the National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB). The FBI and Homeland Security/TSA have become more involved with the FAA in daily airport safety since 9/11. Immigration and Customs are also active in airport security actions.
Large airports, such as Chicago's O'Hare, are often owned, controlled and maintained by the municipality (e.g., through the Chicago Department of Aviation). So although the FAA is independent, its actual work is part of a large jigsaw of overlapping authorities.