Mexico asks FAA for an urgent meeting to revise downgrading aviation safety rating

Mexico asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for an “urgent” meeting with its auditors to jointly
review the causes for the downgrading of its air safety rating, the Mexican government reported on Wednesday, May.

Get our news delivered to your inbox every morning. Mexican authorities said they sent a formal request to the FAA through the Mexican Embassy in the United States to address “immediately” all issues related to
the inspection.

“We have sent the FAA a new communication by email requesting an urgent meeting with its auditors, to jointly review the evidence submitted with our specialists,” said the Ministry of Communications and Transportation in an official letter.

The agency reported that this Wednesday it held a meeting with executives of the main Mexican airlines
to define a strategy that allows them to recover Category 1 “as soon as possible.”

The FAA announced Tuesday that it would downgrade Mexico’s rating from “Category 1” to “Category 2” in air
safety, thereby prohibiting Mexican carriers from offering new services or routes in the United States. Mexico argued that the Federal Civil Aviation Agency ( AFAC ) team was reduced at the time of the evaluation
and that some adjustments were not adequately assessed by the US auditors.

According to the FAA’s assessment, the Mexican government does not comply with the standards of the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations entity that regulates global aeronautics.
Mexico guaranteed air safety and said that the measure does not affect operations.

Source: El Sol de Mexico