The United States aviation authorities have completed an assessment of Mexico's airspace safety but have yet to make a final judgment, Mexico's transportation ministry said on Friday, more than two years after the nation was stripped of its highest air rating. According to the transportation ministry, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) still has several weeks to decide whether Mexico will regain the grade.
Mexico's aviation safety classification was reduced to Category 2 by the FAA in 2021, citing safety problems and preventing Mexican airlines from establishing new U.S. flights. Since Mexico's rating was revoked, the FAA has performed a series of audits on the local civil aviation authority and its compliance with international safety standards.
El Financiero, a Mexican daily, had earlier stated that Mexico had already regained its safety rating, citing official sources, but quickly backtracked on the first report. Restoring the FAA's Category 1 safety classification would allow airlines such as Aeromexico and Volaris to offer new routes to the US and perhaps enter into marketing partnerships with US carriers. Aeromexico CEO Andres Conesa stated last year that the downgrading was "significant." Mexico has updated its aviation regulations, replaced authorities, and most recently overhauled its civil aviation law in the two years since the FAA downgraded the country to Category 2.
When asked about Mexico's air safety rating, an FAA representative simply said that the agency "continues to assist Mexico's civil aviation authority."