The degradation to Category 2 by the FAA has prevented Mexican airlines from adding new flights to the United States.
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (PVDN) – Good news for the aviation industry in Mexico. The Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation (SICT) reported on Tuesday the progress for Mexico to recover Category 1 in aviation safety as soon as possible.
Through a statement, it was detailed that the meetings between representatives of the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) and the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have already begun.
The U.S does not evaluate the safety of Mexican airlines but reviews the supervision of airlines by the Mexican government.
On February 6, the director of the AFAC, Miguel Enrique Vallin Osuna, and his work team reviewed, together with the FAA specialists, the non-conformities referring mainly to the training of inspectors, to the procedures for their adequate specialization and revisions to the operation of airlines.
Jeffrey Richardson, who heads the delegation of American specialists, recognized the work that the Mexican government has done to recover category 1.
As part of the North American delegation of the FAA, there are also Randall Wright and Julio Arizmendi.
The American group will remain in Mexico until next Friday to review the pending points and it is expected that they will report on the preparation for the final audit.
Mexico was downgraded to Category 2 in May 2021, which is why it cannot open new routes to the United States and has limited the ability of airlines to carry out commercial agreements.
Since then, the SICT promised to recover Category 1 in four months, which did not happen. And in August 2021, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), Marcelo Ebrard, set a new deadline: the first half of 2022, but it was not met either.
The degradation to Category 2 by the FAA has prevented Mexican airlines from adding new flights to the United States . . .
