In a major boost for Indian civil aviation sector, more specifically for Air India and Jet Airways, the U.S. Federal Aviation Association (FAA), has upgraded the safety rating of Indian airlines as well as of the civil aviation regulator by granting a Category 1 rating to India under its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme.
This announcement was made by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx during his meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Mr. Foxx also announced that India now complies with international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
“U.S. and Indian aviation officials have an important, cooperative working relationship,” said Mr. 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,” he said in a statement.
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 U.S. using their own aircraft and carry the code of U.S. carriers on their operations.
The grant of Category 1 rating follows a December 8-12, 2014, FAA review of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), subsequent meetings, and an FAA visit to India on March 30-31.
On January 14, 2014, the FAA had assigned India a Category 2 IASA rating, which signified that India’s civil aviation safety oversight regime did not currently comply with ICAO standards.
That time India had protested the downgrade.
Under Category 2, the U.S. continued to work with India’s DGCA while India’s air carriers continued existing service to the U.S. However, they were not allowed to establish new service to the U.S. using their own aircraft.
“Our countries will continue to work together to meet the challenges of ensuring safety in international civil aviation,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta in a statement.
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. Having got satisfied, the U.S. granted India Category 1 rating.
