U.S. Downgrades India’s Safety Oversight Rating
AINONLINE by GREGORY POLEK and NEELAM MATHEWS Air India flies Boeing 777-200LRs to the U.S., but can't add further service until India achieves a Category 1 safety rating. (Photo: Boeing) January 31, 2014, 11:51 AM The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has downgraded its International Aviation Safety Assessment ( IASA ) program rating of India from a Category 1 to a Category 2 based on a recent reassessment of the country’s civil aviation authority. Under Category 2, India’s airlines can continue to fly existing service to the U.S., but they cannot establish any new service until the FAA reinstates the country’s Category 1 status. The ruling, announced on Friday, means that, in the FAA ’s estimation, India’s civil aviation safety oversight regime does not comply with the international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO ). The FAA a...