Costa Rica returns to FAA Category 1 status

Costa Rica’s international aviation safety ranking has been upgraded to Category 1 status, the highest possible ranking, by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In a statement, the FAA announced this was based on reassessments in 2020 and a January 2021 safety oversight meeting with Costa Rica’s civil aviation authority (Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil – DGAC). The news was confirmed by Costa Rica’s Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Rodolfo Méndez Mata. A Category 1 rating means the country’s civil aviation authority complies with standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the United Nations’ technical agency for aviation. Under a Category 1 rating, properly authorised Costa Rican air carriers are permitted to serve the US and codeshare with US carriers without limitation. In May 2019, Costa Rica was downgraded to Category 2 after it failed to comply with ICAO’s safety standards. A Category 2 IASA rating means the country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards for safety matters, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping, or inspection procedures. A Category 2 rating permits carriers from a particular country to continue providing existing service to the United States, but they are not allowed to establish new routes. The development will be good news for carriers such as Volaris Costa Rica (Q6, San José Juan Santamaría) and Avianca Airlines Costa Rica (LR, San José Juan Santamaría), which could not open new routes to the US, under the previous rating. Volaris Costa Rica currently serves Los Angeles Int’l, New York JFK, and Washington Dulles, according to the ch-aviation schedules module. Through IASA, the FAA assesses the civil aviation authorities of all countries whose air carriers have either applied to fly to the US, currently conduct operations to the country, or participate in code-sharing arrangements with US partner airlines.