Published Thursday, June 13, 2019
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According to Minister Mendez, there will be a corrective action plan and periodic visits by specialists from the FAA, to verifying the implementation and compliance of the agreements. / Minister of Public Works courtesy photo.



Government agrees to receive assistance from
FAA to recover safety rating at airports



By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The Minister of Public Works and Transports (MOPT), Rodolfo Méndez Mata, met in Washington with representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), seeking to recover the country’s category 1 safety status at airports.

Minister Mendez met with Carl Burlinson, Assistant Director of the FAA, and as part of the agreements non-reimbursable technical cooperation signed between the FAA and the Central American Air Navigation Services Corporation (COCESNA), agreed to receive specialized advice on safety airports improvements.

According to Minister Mendez, there will be a corrective action plan and periodic visits by specialists from the FAA, to verifying the implementation and compliance of the agreements.

On Monday June 10, as A.M. Costa Rica reported,  the delegation of airport authorities traveled to the U.S.  to meet FAA officials. According to Guillermo Hoppe, General Director of Civil Aviation, the country has followed up on the actions that suggested by the audit of the FAA, and it is important to clarify in which specific points they have some discrepancy.
Meanwhile, on Saturday the Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport*, in Liberia Guanacaste, was closed for some hours, due to repairs reportedly caused by a hole on the runway.

According to the airport's information department, the flights were redirected on Saturday afternoon to the Juan Santamaría International Airport in Alajuela, the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport in Nicaragua and the Philip SW Goldson International Airport in Belize.

After the problem was solved on the runway, the airlines continued with takeoffs and landings during normal hours at the international airport in Guanacaste.

On May 15th, the 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 not 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 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 U. S., currently conduct operations to the U. S., 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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Do you feel insecure in the 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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