Ban On American Planes Was Set For Tuesday
In a move that will
likely avert a potential crisis that would have either banned or
strictly limited flights by US airlines to and from Venezuela, the
FAA announced Friday the agency upgraded the safety rating of that
country's airlines to Category 1 status, following a
reassessment of Venezuela's civil aviation authority.
The last time the FAA assessed Venezuela’s civil aviation
authority was in 1995. Since then, two audits by the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have shown increasing
improvements.
A Category 1 rating means that the civil aviation authority of
Venezuela has been assessed by FAA inspectors and has been found to
license and oversee air carriers in accordance with ICAO aviation
safety standards. That has not been the case since the last FAA
assessment in 1995, when the FAA rated Venezuela in the lesser
Category 2 -- stating its airlines did not comply with ICAO
standards.
As part of the FAA’s International Aviation Safety
Assessment (IASA) program, 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, the 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 the FAA
considers necessary include:
- Laws enabling the appropriate government office to adopt
regulations necessary to meet the minimum requirements of
ICAO;
- Current regulations that meet those requirements;
- Procedures to carry out the regulatory requirements;
- Air carrier certification, routine inspection, and surveillance
programs; and
- Organizational and personnel resources to implement and enforce
the above.
Carriers from Category 2 countries are allowed to continue
existing operations into the United States at current levels, but
under heightened FAA surveillance. Those carriers from Category 2
countries that do not already serve the United States are not
permitted to start service with their own aircraft while the
country remains in Category 2 status.
US aviation authorities upgraded Venezuela's safety ranking on
Friday, averting a ban that would have blocked most US airlines
from flying to the country. The US Embassy in Caracas said the
Federal Aviation Administration raised the safety rating of
Venezuela to Category 1. The decision came after an FAA team
visited Venezuela late last month to examine Venezuelan airlines'
planes and procedures within the country's aviation authority.
As was reported by Aero-News,
Venezuela had set an April 25 deadline for the FAA to drop the
restrictions or face retaliatory measures. It had threatened to
block all flights by Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines and
restrict most flights by American Airlines.