New regulations to govern all civil aviation matters in Antigua & Barbuda are in draft stages and are expected to go into effect soon, Safety and Oversight Officer in the Ministry of Aviation Peter Abraham said this week.

Speaking on OBSERVER AM, he said, ?It?s not only having a written law; it is not only having a written national law civil aviation security programme, which spells out the state responsibility and policies but regulations which is law to back it up,? Abraham said.

As a part of the 192 countries of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the country should establish a written national civil aviation security policy to safeguard against acts of unlawful interference, taking into consideration the safety irregularities and inefficiencies of flights.

?What ICAO does, is that they have an audit team and basically every five years they audit each state. In January 2008, the universal security programme went into a second cycle for all contracting states with a view to assess the state oversight system,? Abraham added.

To meet the international standards, the ICAO has put a quality control programme in place where an appropriate authority can ensure and monitor the V C Bird International Airport?s compliance with the policies.

A team from the ICAO is expected on the island on Saturday to conduct an audit of the oversight capabilities here in Antigua & Barbuda.