Mexico could recover coveted US air safety rating by mid-June -media

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion SAB de CV

10/05/2023 16:52

MEXICO CITY, May 10 (Reuters) - Mexico could recover a
much-needed aviation safety rating by mid-June, following an
upcoming audit from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA), the country's transportation minister said in an
interview published Wednesday.
    "We asked for it to be as soon as possible, we proposed
within a month and they said it was feasible," Transportation
Minister Jorge Nuno said in an interview with Mexican newspaper
Reforma.
    The FAA downgraded Mexico to the Category 2 safety rating in
May 2021, saying country's aviation authority lacked regulations
in compliance with international standards.
    The downgrade has prohibited Mexican airlines' ability to
open new international routes to the U.S. and limited their
ability to carry out marketing agreements.
    The damage done to Mexican airlines as a result has been
"significant," Aeromexico CEO Andres Conesa said last year.
    Mexico is on track to recover the rating two years after the
downgrade, following a recently passed aviation reform which
resolved the last of issues raised by the FAA, officials have
said.
    The aviation reform, which took effect this month, overhauls
safety requirements for the country's regulator on a number of
matters such as personnel licensing, aircraft operation and
airworthiness of craft. 
    It also included a stipulation backed by President Andres
Manuel Lopez Obrador allowing a military-run company to operate
both a network of airports and a commercial airline.
    The government inked a deal this year to buy the brand of
defunct airline Mexicana, which it plans to revive as the
military-run line. It is set to take flight by the end of this
year, officials have said.

 (Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by David Gregorio)
 ((Kylie.Madry@thomsonreuters.com;))