FAA to Support Countries Before Airspace Downgrades

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it will now address safety issues with countries before imposing safety downgrades. The administration only offered assistance after countries received a downgrade, but it will now intervene and address developing safety risks before downgrading countries. 

The FAA said it will work with countries when identifying that civil aviation authorities are failing to meet safety standards. The administration will notify countries when it notices a safety concern and will limit direct service and code sharing to foreign aviation operators while it reviews the issuance of a downgrade. 

In May 2021, the FAA downgraded Mexico to a Category 2 aviation safety rating, which bans all Mexican carriers from adding flights to US territory and limits marketing agreements with one another. The Mexican objected to the decision, as the country represents one of the most popular destinations for US travelers. Mexican authorities hoped to recover the rating rapidly, deeming the process “quick and easy,” but that has not been the case. The FAA said that 90 percent of countries reach Category 1 after the rating process, according to Reuters. 

Andres Conesa, CEO, Aeroméxico, indicated that the airline’s expansion plans depended entirely on the FAA’s revision. “The damage done by that is significant," said Conesa.

Mexican airlines have lost an estimated 65 percent of their potential revenue due to the downgrade, which accounts for an equivalent to US$9.32 billion, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), as reported by MBN. 

The downgrade is also estimated to have costed Mexico's GDP US$7 billion and the country could lose over 170,000 direct jobs and almost 780,000 indirect ones, added IATA. "Category 2 would put more jobs at risk and further decrease the industry's share of GDP. The assumed losses to the economy are far greater than the investment needed to meet the requirements set by the FAA," said IATA.