Mexico to recover U.S. air safety rating next week, president says

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(Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Transportation has informed Mexico’s foreign minister that Mexico will officially recover a U.S.-given air safety rating next week, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday.

Mexico was downgraded by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to the Category 2 safety rating more than two years ago, pausing Mexican airlines’ plans to expand new routes to its northern neighbor.

The FAA also said in a statement that it continued to assist Mexico’s civil aviation authority and it expected to conclude the process “in the near future.”

The downgrade was a major blow to national carriers, as U.S. airlines were able to scoop up market share. Mexico overhauled its civil aviation law, but faced several hurdles in recovering the Category 1 rating.

Carrier Aeromexico has said it had been unable to fly newly delivered planes to the U.S. due to a lack of certification.

Competitors Volaris and Viva Aerobus have several planned route expansions frozen.

Mexico remains the top international destination for U.S. airline passengers. Through July, there were 23.4 million passengers on flights between the United States and Mexico, significantly ahead of the 17.4 million to Canada, the second highest.

The FAA carried out a series of audits to evaluate whether Mexico had met requirements to recover the rating, wrapping up one in June which Mexican officials described as the country’s “last.”

Minutes from the June audit obtained by Reuters show that FAA officials raised concerns about Mexico’s process for post-accident investigations and for carrying out medical exams for sector employees.

This week, Mexico’s civil aviation agency approved a list of third-party providers for medical exams. On Wednesday, FAA officials met them to discuss the rating recovery, Mexican authorities had said.

“This is good news,” Lopez Obrador said in a regular morning press conference. “All of the requirements have been met.”

Lopez Obrador said the safety rating had been returned to “the airport,” having in the past said the rating was given to the Mexico City International Airport (AICM), though the rating applies to Mexico’s aviation regulator.