U.S. regulators downgraded Mexico's civil aviation rating following a safety assessment, jeopardizing some U.S.-Mexico airline services. Though Mexican carriers can continue to operate flights to and from the United States, they cannot establish new services. They also can no longer carry codes of U.S. partners. According to U.S. Federal Aviation Administration information, code removal by U.S. airlines should be "if not immediate, then highly expedited."
Both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines share codes on flights operated by Mexican partners and indicated on their Web sites that they are complying with FAA's requirements.
American is telling customers originally booked on AA-coded Mexicana flights that they would be re-ticketed as Mexicana passengers or "have the option to receive a refund for their purchased flight." Delta is informing passengers of a similar change for Delta-coded flights operated by Aeromexico. "We expect to be able to fully re-accommodate affected Aeromexico codeshare passengers with minimal impact to their travel plans," according to Delta's Web site."
According to FAA, "Mexico is not in compliance" with international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, prompting the downgrade to "Category 2" from "Category 1." FAA information explains that Category 2 "means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with international standards, or that its civil aviation authority is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping or inspection procedures." When asked which ICAO standards Mexico failed to meet, an FAA spokeswoman declined to comment.
According to a U.S. Department of Transportation spokesman, airlines from countries with a Category 2 "cannot carry the code of a U.S. carrier on their aircraft. However, an airline from a Category 2 country such as Mexico can place its code on a U.S.-carrier flight."
Though FAA asks U.S. carriers to remove codes from Mexican carriers' flights immediately, "for the sole purpose of facilitating an orderly transition, the precise timing of the code removal will be considered on a case-by-case basis."
"While Mexico has been responsive to the FAA's findings and has made significant improvements in recent months, it was unable to fully comply with all of the international safety standards," according to an FAA statement. "Mexico continues to make progress. FAA is committed to working closely with the Mexican government and providing technical assistance to help Mexico regain its Category 1 rating."