The Australian Civil Aviation Ensign is an Australian flag

Civil air ensign

A nation's civil air ensign is its national flag which represents civil aviation in that nation. Typically, it is flown from buildings connected with the administration of civil aviation and it may also be flown by airlines of the appropriate country. A civil air ensign is the equivalent of the...

 that was used by the Australian Civil Aviation Authority.

The design of the flag is based on the British Civil Air Ensign

British Civil Air Ensign

The Civil Air Ensign is the flag that may be flown at airports in the United Kingdom and from landed British aircraft.The ensign's field is light blue and has a dark blue Latin cross which is fimbriated white placed overall. The Union Flag is in the canton....

, which is divided into quarters by a dark blue cross with a white fimbriation. There is a Union Jack in the upper hoist quarter, and the other quarters light blue. When an Australian version was first adopted in 1935, it included the stars from the Australian National Flag

Flag of Australia

The flag of Australia is a defaced Blue Ensign: a blue field with the Union Flag in the canton , and a large white seven-pointed star known as the Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter...

 in yellow, and with the Southern Cross

Crux

Crux is the smallest of the 88 modern constellations, but is one of the most distinctive. Its name is Latin for cross, and it is dominated by a cross-shaped asterism that is commonly known as the Southern Cross.-Visibility:...

 rotated by roughly 45 degrees, meaning that the smallest star was completely inside the arm of the blue cross. In 1948, the colour of the stars was changed to white.

Originally, civil air ensigns were intended to be flown at airports and by civilian aircraft on the ground. While the practice of flying flags from landed aircraft has not continued, this flag has been used by agencies such as the Civil Aviation Authority and is still used by the Minister for Transport. On 21 April 2009, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority granted the Australian Air League

Australian Air League

The Australian Air League is a not-for-profit, civilian operated aviation youth organisation in Australia. Its objective is to encourage the spirit of aviation and air-mindedness in the youth of Australia. The Australian Air League receives no money or assistance of any government department and...

official use of the Australian Civil Aviation Ensign to recognise the organisation's significant contribution to aviation in Australia

External links

• "Other Australian Flags" at It's an honour (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Australia) retrieved 17 June 2006
• "The Civil Air Ensign" at Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society retrieved 17 June 2006
• A recent photograph http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/02/15/1108230002421.html.
• Discussion on its specifications http://www.mail-archive.com/fotw@googlegroups.com/msg00336.html