The FAA has approved a new Aeromexico route to the USA despite Mexico still having a degraded “Category 2” FAA safety rating. The Mexico City-based carrier said on 31 January that US authorities granted it authorisation to launch the first route to the USA from Mexico City’s new Felipe Angeles International airport (AIFA). The daily flight to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental airport will begin operating on 1 May with an Embraer 190. “After a regulatory assessment and an evaluation of current conditions, US and Mexican authorities approved this route considering that AIFA also serves the metropolitan area of the Valley of Mexico,” the airline says. “Aeromexico is working closely with the Mexican aviation authorities to recover Category 1 aviation status under the International Aviation Safety Assessment programme of the Federal Aviation Administration, in compliance with the standards of” ICAO, Aeromexico adds. The FAA downgraded Mexico’s safety status to Category 2 from Category 1 in May 2021. The US aviation regulator said at the time that the country and its civil aviation regulator AFAC no longer met ICAO safety standards. While the FAA permitted existing air service between the countries to continue, the Category 2 designation restricts Mexican carriers from introducing new US routes and hinders US airlines’ ability to market and sell tickets on Mexican carriers via code-share partnerships. The FAA says on 1 February that it is continuing to ”provide assistance to Mexico’s civil aviation authority” in recovering Category 1 status.<br/>
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Korean Air, Korea's biggest air carrier by sales, said Wednesday its net profit nearly tripled in 2022 from a year earlier as travel demand recovered amid eased COVID-19 virus curbs. The national flag carrier posted a net profit of 1.73t won ($1.4b) last year, up from 1.15t won the previous year, the company said. Late last year, travel demand began to recover, helped by eased travel restrictions in some countries. "The recovery of passenger travel demand and steady cargo deals contributed to boosting the bottom line," the statement said. In October, South Korea removed a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test requirement for inbound travelers on the first day of their arrival. Japan lifted the ban on the number of inbound passengers and resumed visa-free travel for visitors from specific countries, including South Korea, on Oct. 11.<br/>