FAA Raises Safety Rating
The U.S. Department of
Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced
Thursday it was raising Greece's safety rating to the highest
international safety category following a reassessment of that
country's civil aviation authority conducted in May 2005.
As a result of the reassessment, Greece's safety rating was
raised from Category 2 to Category 1. A Category 1 rating means
that the Greek civil aviation authority has been assessed by FAA
inspectors and has been found to license and oversee air carriers
in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
aviation safety standards.
This announcement is part of FAA's International Aviation Safety
Assessment (IASA) program, under which the agency assesses the
civil aviation authorities of all countries with air carriers that
operate to the United States 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.
Countries with air carriers that fly to the United States 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.
The FAA, with the cooperation of the host civil aviation
authority, assesses countries with airlines that have operating
rights to or from the United States or have requested such
rights.
Specifically, FAA determines whether a foreign civil aviation
authority has an adequate infrastructure for international aviation
safety oversight as defined by ICAO standards. The basic elements
that FAA considers necessary include: 1) laws enabling the
appropriate government office to adopt regulations necessary to
meet the minimum requirements of ICAO; 2) current regulations that
meet those requirements; 3) procedures to carry out the regulatory
requirements; 4) air carrier certification, routine inspection, and
surveillance programs, and 5) organizational and personnel
resources to implement and enforce the above.
The FAA has established
two categories for the status of these civil aviation authorities
at the time of the assessment: (1) does comply with ICAO standards,
(2) does not comply with ICAO standards.
Carriers from a country in Category 2 status may continue
existing operations into the United States at current levels, but
under heightened FAA surveillance. Expansion or changes are not
permitted while in Category 2, but carriers from the country can
operate new services using aircraft wet-leased from a duly
authorized and properly supervised U.S. carrier or a foreign air
carrier from a Category 1 country authorized to serve the United
States using its own aircraft.
Carriers from Category 2 countries that do not serve the United
States will not be permitted to start service with their own
aircraft while the country remains in Category 2 status, but they
may use wet-leased aircraft as previously discussed.