The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States Department of Transportation announced on Monday that Costa Rica does not comply with the safety regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The country was assigned a Category 2 rating, based on a re-evaluation of the country’s civil legislation made last year, according to an official statement from the US Department of Transportation.
Category 2 means that the country lacks the laws or regulations necessary to supervise airlines in accordance with minimum international standards, or that its civil aviation authority (an agency equivalent to the FAA for matters of aviation security) may be deficient in one or more areas such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping or inspection procedures.
With a Category 2 rating, operators in Costa Rica can provide service to the United States, but they will not be allowed to establish new services to the United States.
According to the text of the communique, in 1996, Costa Rica was assigned an initial Category 1 rating, which means that the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) of the country complied with the ICAO standards for the supervision of the safety of the aviation.
The FAA conducted a re-evaluation in the country of Costa Rica under the IASA program in October 2018 and met with the DGAC in February 2019 to analyze the results.