Costa Rica’s civil aviation authority is not in compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards, and its air carriers will not be permitted to establish new flights to the United States, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says.
In a decision announced on Monday, the FAA said that it had assigned a Category 2 International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) rating to Costa Rica — a designation meaning either that the country lacks the laws or regulations required for air carrier oversight “in accordance with minimum international standards” or that the civil aviation authority “is deficient in one or more areas such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping or inspection procedures.”
Although new service to U.S. airports by Costa Rican carriers will not be permitted, they may continue any existing service.
Costa Rica had held a Category 1 rating sin…
