India retains ‘Category 1’ rating in international aviation safety assessment

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NEW DELHI – The government on Tuesday said India has retained its ‘Category 1’ rating under the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme.

The countries listed under ‘Category 1’ meet the UN agency International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards for safety oversight of civil aviation.

In the IASA programme, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) determines whether another country’s oversight of its air carriers that operate, or seek to operate, into the US, or codeshare with a US air carrier, comply with safety standards established by the ICAO.

Accordingly, the FAA conducted an audit of the DGCA in July 2018 to confirm India’s adherence to the standards laid down by ICAO and oversight of Indian airlines.

“During consultations held with FAA in early November, DGCA presented the actions taken to address the findings of the July 2018 audit,” a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Tuesday.

“Today, (December 18) FAA has formally communicated that India is adhering to the safety standards of ICAO and have confirmed that India’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) rating remains ‘Category 1’.”