Irish Aviation Authority
Some years ago, I wished to convert my UK licences to Irish CPL/IR and Instructor Rating. I was duly given flight tests, one after the other by a member of the IAA. (In fairness he did pass me) During the course of conversation, this gentleman revealed that the only licence he held was a PPL with less than 100hrs TT. He also went on to proudly proclaim that he was also the Irish representative on ICAO committees concerned with Airfields, Navigation, Licencing etc. for all of which he was equally unqualified. This level of expertise within the IAA in effect makes Aer Lingus self-regulating, I wonder whether their insurers realise the fact.
So, when one wonders at some of the absurdities being pushed out by the JAA, it should come as no surprise with so many little states punching above their weights.
And on a similar vein, an aquaintance strolled across the tarmac to visit a Ryanair 737 recently, to find the crew sleeping on the pax seats in the course of a 'split duty'. So here we have a foreign registered airline, but largely based in the UK, hammering the opposition, while enjoying a different set of rules, unfettered by the heavy hand of the CAA, overseen by ..... effectively, nobody.