Mexico looks to recover air safety rating after FAA clips its wings

The US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) decision to downgrade Mexico’s aviation rating from Category 1 to Category 2 has sparked new concerns surrounding the future of the Mexican air industry amidst a very slow recovery in traffic. 

The FAA announced on Tuesday that, after concluding a reassessment of Mexico’s civil aviation authority, it determined that the country did not meet international safety standards, which will lead to new restrictions for Mexican carriers. 

“While the new rating allows Mexican air carriers to continue existing service to the United States, it prohibits any new service and routes. US airlines will no longer be able to market and sell tickets with their names and designator codes on Mexican-operated flights. The FAA will increase its scrutiny of Mexican airline flights to the United States,” it said in a release. 

The FAA did not give any specific details of safety failings in Mexican aviation, but the Wall Street Journal suggested recently it has to do with “insufficient legal authority, training and compensation for Mexican air-safety regulators.”

There are now only nine countries in the world with a Category 2 aviation rating, namely Bangladesh, Curacao, Ghana, Malaysia, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, Pakistan, Thailand, Venezuela and Mexico.

LOW BLOW FOR MEXICAN AIRLINES

In a statement, Mexico’s national air transport chamber (Canaero) said national carriers operate under the highest standards and that this downgrade will slow the companies’ recovery after a huge drop in flights last year. 

The chamber urged the federal government to address the issues as soon as possible to reduce the economic impact that the decision will have on the industry.

The companies that will be most affected will be Aeroméxico, Volaris, VivaAerobus and Aeromar, which all run flights to the US. So far, the only one that has responded is Aeroméxico, which said it is focused on guaranteeing passenger safety. 

Meanwhile, none of the 13 US airlines that offer flights to Mexico will be subject to restrictions, according to daily El Economista. 

Asked about the downgrade on Monday, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the move was intended to benefit US airlines over Mexican carriers. 

In response to the FAA announcement, the transport and communications ministry (SCT), through AFAC, said it is working alongside the US agency to regain Mexico’s Category 1 rating as soon as possible. 

To justify the downgrade, AFAC said the US reassessment took place in October 2020, when AFAC employees were not available due to the coronavirus pandemic. Thus, it is possible that the FAA's report lacked complete information regarding Mexico’s aviation standards.  

For example, the agency said, on May 20 congress approved an updated version of the country’s civil aviation law and is guaranteeing the safety of Mexican airspace and travel routes.

The US downgraded Mexico’s safety rating previously in 2014. It took the government four months to regain the Category 1 rating.