On
May 15th, the U.S. Department
of Transportation's Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA)
announced that Costa Rica does
not comply with the
International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) safety
standards /
A.M. Costa Rica wire services
photo
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Officials
to meet with U.S. Federal
Aviation to
upgrade Costa Rican airports’
safety categories
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Representatives of the General
Directorate of Civil Aviation will
meet with authorities of the Federal
Aviation Administration – FAA - in
Washington from June 10 to 12, to
recover the Category 1 standing it
lose last month.
Captain Guillermo Hoppe, general
director of Civil Aviation said that
the priority is to recover Category
1 in the shortest possible time.
"From the moment we were notified of
the downgrade by the FAA, we
expedited this meeting to achieve a
re-qualification of the aviation
authorities of the United States,"
said Hoppe.
In this first meeting, a strategy to
follow to achieve the
requalification will be considered.
The Costa Rican authorities going to
the meeting are Rodolfo Mendez,
Minister of Transport, Jose Manuel
Saenz, president of the Technical
Council of Civil Aviation and
Guillermo Hoppe, Director General,
in addition to a group of
specialists.
According to Civil Aviation, the
U.S. Government offered technical
assistance from its specialists, who
will also accompany the Costa Rican
authorities in the meeting.
The General Directorate of Civil
Aviation does not announce an
estimated date in which the country
could recover the airport safety
rating.
As A.M. Costa Rica reported on May
15th, the U.S. Department of
Transportation's Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) announced that
Costa Rica does not comply with the
International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) safety standards
and has been assigned to Category 2
rating based on a reassessment of
the country's civil aviation
authority.
A Category 2 International Aviation
Safety Assessment (IASA) rating
means the country either lacks laws
or regulations necessary to oversee
air carriers in accordance with
minimum international standards, or
its civil aviation authority - a
body equivalent to the FAA for
aviation safety matters - is
deficient in one or more areas, such
as technical expertise, trained
personnel, record-keeping, or
inspection procedures.
With a Category 2 rating, Costa
Rica's carriers can continue
existing service to the United
States but they will be allowed to
establish a new service to the
United States.
In 1996, Costa Rica was assigned an
initial Category 1 rating, meaning
the country's General Directorate of
Civil Aviation (DGAC) complied with
ICAO standards for aviation safety
oversight. The FAA conducted an
in-country reassessment of Costa
Rica under the IASA program in
October 2018 and met with the DGAC
in February 2019 to discuss the
results.
As part of the FAA's IASA program,
the agency assesses the civil
aviation authorities of all
countries with air carriers that
have applied to fly to the United
States, currently conduct operations
to the United States, or participate
in code-sharing arrangements with
U.S. partner airlines, and makes
that information available to the
public.
The assessments determine whether or
not foreign civil aviation
authorities are meeting ICAO safety
standards, not FAA regulations.
A Category 1 rating means the
country's civil aviation authority
complies with ICAO standards. With
an IASA Category 1 rating, a
country's air carriers can establish
service to the United States and
carry the code of U.S. carriers.
To maintain a Category 1 rating, a
country must adhere to the safety
standards of ICAO, the United
Nations' technical agency for
aviation that establishes
international standards and
recommended practices for aircraft
operations and maintenance.
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are unsafe? We would like to know
your thoughts on this story.
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