RV: U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Key Congressional Issues Update

U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx Announces Improved  Aviation Safety Rating for India  U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced today that India complies with international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and has been granted a Category 1 rating under the FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program.  The announcement was made during a meeting between Secretary Foxx and India’s Minister of Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathi Raju in India’s capital city, New Delhi.  “U.S. and Indian aviation officials have an important, cooperative working relationship, ” said Secretary Foxx.  “The United States Government commends the Government of India for taking corrective action to address the safety oversight issues identified during the IASA process.”  A Category 1 rating means that the country’s civil aviation authority complies with ICAO standards and permits India’s air carriers to add flights to the United States using their own aircraft and carry the code of U.S. carriers on their operations.   “Our countries will continue to work together to meet the challenges of ensuring safety  in international civil aviation,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.  India first achieved a Category 1 rating in August 1997.  A December 2012 FAA  audit identified some deficiencies in the DGCA from ICAO-set global standards for  oversight of aviation safety which led to a Category 2 designation.  Subsequently, the  FAA began a reassessment of India’s compliance with ICAO standards under the FAA’s  IASA program.    Additional Background on the FAA’s IASA Program:  As part of the FAA’s IASA program, the agency assesses the civil aviation authorities  of all countries with air carriers that operate, or seek to operate, into the United States, or codeshare with a U.S. air carrier, and makes that information available to the public. The assessments determine whether or not foreign civil aviation authorities are meeting ICAO safety oversight standards, not FAA regulations.  In order to maintain a Category 1 rating, a country must adhere to the safety oversight standards of ICAO, the United Nations’ technical agency for international civil aviation that establishes international standards and recommended practices for government oversight, airports, aircraft operations and maintenance. A Category 2 rating means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee  air carriers in accordance with the minimum international civil aviation standards, or that  its civil aviation authority – the equivalent to the FAA for civil aviation safety matters – is  deficient in one or more areas of safety oversight, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping, or inspection procedures and enforcement.