Mexico’s Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) will be audited next week by delegates from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as part of the process to regain Category 1 safety status.
According to Milenio, the information was revealed by Volaris CEO Enrique Beltranena, who called for “close observation of the FAA’s actions in the country”.
Mexico suffered a major setback in the expansion of its airline industry when in May last year the US regulator, one of the most important in the world, announced that the country would be downgraded to safety category 2. The reasons given at the time were that it “did not meet International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) safety standards”.
Category 2 effect: American Airlines adds eleven new routes to Mexico
The International Aviation Safety Assessment Scheme (IASA) was established by the FAA in 1992, following the crash of Avianca flight 52. Its objective is to assess adherence to safety standards and practices set by ICAO and other international bodies. The program has two categories, according to whether or not a country complies with the requirements imposed.
Airlines with safety status category 2 countries can continue to operate in the US – if they did so before being downgraded – but are prevented from expanding their services to the country and from entering into code-share agreements with US carriers. In addition, they may be subject to more extensive tarmac checks.
“We have an audit next week with the FAA, we’re going to see how we do. I think it’s going to be important to observe the process,” said Volaris CEO Enrique Beltranena.
The Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transport (SICT) had indicated that, by the end of last year at the latest, Level 1 would be recovered.
