Mexico failed the latest Technical Review, which would pave the way to restore its Category 1 status provided by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The latest setback could mean Mexico could remain in Category 2 status for the remainder of the year, directly impacting the aviation industry, particularly Aeromexico, Viva Aerobus, and Volaris. Let’s investigate further.
Remaining in Category 2 status
During the latest Technical Review, which took place between June 13 and 17, the FAA found new deficiencies within the Mexican Civil Aviation Authorities, which will lead the US authority not to restore the previous Category 1 status.
Being in Category 2 status implies that the Mexican government does not meet the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards. Mexico has been downgraded to Category 2 since May 25, 2021.
Following the technical review, the Mexican authorities released a statement saying,
“After seven meetings that have been held with specialists from the FAA of the United States, Mexico continues in the process to return to Category 1 in aviation safety in the coming months.”
The results of the latest Technical Review will be published within the next 30 days. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transport (SICT), the results will provide a first-step analysis before the next International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) assessment that will take place within the next few months.
Nonetheless, restoring Category 1 status could be delayed until December 2022, and the process could be dragged very easily to 2023.
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Mexico was downgraded to Category 2 in May 2021. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.
What was found?
During the review, the FAA reviewed some of the following areas: aeronautical legislation, financial resources and budget, hiring of adequate and sufficient personnel, certification and surveillance, and the operation of the various technical and aerial inspection systems.
No date has yet been set for the next evaluation with the FAA, but a maximum of ten reviews were established from the beginning, of which seven have been carried out so far.
For the SICT,
“The ultimate goal is not only to recover Category 1 in aviation, but to give continuity to the process of administrative, financial, and training improvement, which guarantees safety to the millions of Mexicans who use air navigation services, both in domestic and foreign airports. In addition, we seek to be prepared for any review that the FAA or any other international aeronautical institution may wish to carry out in the future.”
The FAA sent the following statement to Simple Flying,s
“The FAA and the AFAC meet regularly in Mexico City to increase international aviation safety. The FAA and AFAC signed a technical assistance agreement on July 23, 2021, to work together to improve Mexico’s aviation safety oversight system to meet standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The FAA will continue providing consultation and technical advice to help bring Mexico’s aviation system back into compliance with international standards.”
@gquimar
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The impact
Being in Category 2 prohibits any new services and routes from Mexican air carriers. Additionally, US airlines can’t market and sell tickets with their names and designator codes on Mexican-operated flights.
After more than a year of being downgraded to Category 2, the Mexican airline industry has felt the impact. The Mexican carriers lost a substantial fraction of the market share between Mexico and the United States. The participation from Mexican airlines fell from 31.6% to 17.6%, which also financially impacted the airlines, and they have lost around US$242 million in capacity that could have been allocated to flights to this country.
