On April 1, 1947, Jamaica established the Civil Aviation Department (CAD). Its purpose was to ensure the compliance of all air operators with international and local rules and regulations. The main objective was to ensure the safe and expeditious flow of air traffic within Jamaica’s airspace.
The need to transform the CAD from a Civil Service agency to a statutory entity was necessary for modernising the Department and keeping apace with the growth of civil aviation locally and worldwide.
The Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) was, therefore, established by the Civil Aviation (Amendment) Act 1995. The Authority became operational on May 6, 1996.