Regulatory Authorities have a significant role in ensuring safety, efficiency, security and sustainability, financial, social and environmental, in civil aviation operations. Their broad responsibilities, which affect almost every aspect of civil aviation industry, make them one of the key players in the field. These responsibilities cover Oversight, Certification and Licensing to Compliance Enforcement and Airspace Design, Market Access, Fare Monitoring and Consumer Protection as well as Rulemaking and Policy Development and Incident Investigation. Examples of well-known Regulatory Authorities include ICAO, FAA, EASA, UK CAA.

In Europe, SES is a major initiative by the European Union with the purpose of reforming the airspace over Europe, by unifying & modernizing Air Traffic Management System (ATM). Major Goals are improvements in safety, efficiency & environmental performance of ATM. Key Objectives of SES comprise the Reduction in Fragmentation of Airspace, improvement of Safety & Capacity, Cutting of Costs for airlines, gaining of Environmental Benefits. Main Components of SES are FABs, Common European Rules & Procedures, Technology & Innovation and Performance-based Regulation. Major Challenges to Implementation embrace National Sovereignty Concerns, Consultation between multiple Stakeholders, Project Management Issues, Civil-Mil Cooperation, timely Compliance ability.

Major Gains of full Implementation of SES include savings of billions of euros in operational costs, reduction in delays and greener environment. SES is about making Europe safer, cheaper, greener and more efficient.