Mexico airlines, authorities see coveted US safety rating months away

A year after the US FAA downgraded Mexico's air safety rating, Mexican airline and government representatives say regaining the coveted Category 1 rating could still be months away. In a letter sent on Monday to Mexico's civil aviation agency, the FAA delayed a technical review required for a possible restoration "by some weeks," dealing a blow to an industry already reeling from a string of safety incidents in Mexico City's airspace. "I think that the recovery will be achieved by September or by the end of November," Deputy Transportation Minister Rogelio Jimenez told local news outlet El Financiero. Tourism Secretary Miguel Torruco said in an interview this week that the ministry hopes an upgrade will come "in the next few months." The FAA downgraded Mexico's rating in May 2021. It argued Mexico lacked the "necessary requirements to oversee the country's air carriers in accordance with minimum international safety standards, or the civil aviation authority is lacking in one or more areas such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping, inspection procedures or resolution of safety concerns." Mexican authorities had promised that regaining the rating would be a "quick and easy process," but that has not been the case. "Unfortunately, we still do not see clearly when this recovery of Category 1 will happen," Walfred Castro, director of corporate communications at VivaAerobus, told Reuters on Monday at Mexico's tourism conference in the beach resort city of Acapulco.<br/>