Mexico, US Aviation Officials Meeting to Discuss Safety Designation

Government officials in Mexico are scheduled to travel to the United States over the weekend as part of an effort to reestablish the country’s airline safety status to the highest level.

According to The Riviera Maya News, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is sending an array of officials to the U.S. to convince the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to reverse a decision from May 2021 that Mexico would be downgraded to Category 2.

The Category 2 designation prevents Mexican airlines from adding new flights to the U.S. and limits their ability to “seal commercial agreements.”

“Precisely this weekend, the person in charge of the Ministry of Communications, the Undersecretary and the person in charge of Aviation are going to travel to Washington because there is a meeting they have in the United States to try to regain the higher category,” Lopez Obrador said.

The two governments had met seven previous times to work out a deal, but aviation officials in Mexico are hoping to regain a Category 1 designation as soon as possible.

As a result of the FAA’s decision last year, the Mexican government announced changes to the entire operation of its three main airports to distribute passengers better and improve the security for domestic and foreign travelers.