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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. /
Juan Santamaría
International airport
courtesy
photo.
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U.S.
Department of Transportation
has
downgrade airport safety
rating for Costa Rica
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By the
A.M. Costa Rica staff
The U.S. Department of
Transportation’s Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA)
announced that Costa Rica does
not comply with International
Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) safety standards and has
been assigned a 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. They will not be allowed
to establish new service to the
United States.
In 1996, Costa Rica was assigned
an initial Category 1 rating,
meaning the country’s Direccion
General de Aviacion Civil (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.
In order 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.
Recently, American
Airlines announced an increase
in flights from Dallas, Texas
to Juan Santamaría Airport in
San José and Daniel Oduber
Quirós in Liberia, Guanacaste.
The Minister of Public Works
and Transport, Rodolfo Méndez
Mata, will give a press
release on this subject in the
next few hours.
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Do you feel safe flying in and
out of airports in Costa
Rica? We
would like to know your
thoughts on this
story. Send your
comments to: news@amcostarica.com
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