Civil Aviation Ordinance, 1960

The Civil Aviation Ordinance, 1960 is the foundational law regulating aircraft, air transport services, and aerodromes in Pakistan. It applies throughout the country and covers Pakistani citizens and persons connected with aircraft registered in Pakistan, with limited exceptions for military aircraft and lighthouses.

Section 2 defines core aviation terms such as aerodrome, aircraft, airport, air transport service, and commercial flying. Section 3 lets the Federal Government exempt any aircraft or person from the Ordinance's requirements by Gazette notification. Sections 4 and 5 are the Ordinance's main rule-making powers: Section 4 lets government make rules implementing international conventions Pakistan has joined (the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, the 1948 Geneva Convention on rights in aircraft, and the 1952 Rome Convention on damage caused by foreign aircraft), while Section 5 is a broad general rule-making power covering licensing of air transport services and commercial flying, aerodrome/airport licensing and fees, aircraft registration and marking, pilot and personnel licensing, flight prohibitions over specified areas, and airport lighting and signals.

Section 6 covers emergency rule-making powers in wartime, and Sections 6A to 6D (inserted later) let the Federal Government prohibit or regulate construction of buildings, tree planting, and similar activities near aerodromes, with compensation payable (6B) and an arbitrator empowered with civil court-like powers to resolve disputes (6C); Section 6D penalises failure to comply with such a direction. Section 8 allows detaining aircraft, and Sections 9-10 give emergency powers for protecting public health (relevant to matters like disease control at airports). Section 11 penalises flying in a way that causes danger, and Section 12 addresses wreck and salvage of aircraft.

Section 15 lets rules provide for summary trial of certain safety offences by specially empowered officers (deemed first-class Magistrates), with such offences compoundable for a sum not exceeding one lakh rupees — one of the few specific figures stated in the extract. Section 15A allows delegation of the Federal Government's powers to specified officers. Section 16 penalises abetment and attempted offences, Section 17 allows courts to order forfeiture of aircraft or property used in an offence, Section 18 bars certain nuisance/trespass suits over ordinary aircraft overflight, and Section 19 protects good-faith acts done under the Ordinance.

This is an old ordinance from 1960 with many amendments over the decades (1965, 1966, 1971, 1974), including replacement of "Central Government" with "Federal Government" and insertion of Sections 6A-6D and 15A. Two sections (7 and 14, and 20) shown in the contents are marked as repealed. Given its age and amendment history, readers needing precise current rules — including licensing fees or penalty amounts beyond the one-lakh-rupee figure noted above — should check the current official text and the detailed rules made under this Ordinance.