The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has upgraded Costa Rica’s aviation safety rating to Category 1, which signifies that the country’s civil aviation authority complies with safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Costa Rica had held a Category 2 rating from the FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program since May 2019. Category 2 signifies that a civil aviation authority lacks the laws or regulations “to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international safety standards for safety matters, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping or inspection procedures.”
The upgrade to Category 1, which was announced on Feb. 11, follows reassessments and a safety oversight meeting in January with the Costa Rican Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Under a Category 1 rating, a country’s air carriers may, with proper authorization, operate to and from U.S. a…
