The International Aviation Safety Assessment Program (IASA Program) is a program established by the U.S.
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...
(FAA) in 1992. The program is designed to evaluate the ability of a country's civil aviation authority or other regulatory body to adhere to international aviation safety standards and recommended practices for personnel licensing, aircraft operations and aircraft airworthiness.
Regulatory authorities in any sovereign country are obliged under the
Chicago Convention
The Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, established the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations charged with coordinating international air trav ...
to exercise regulatory oversight over air carriers within the state. Such international standards and recommended practices are laid down by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
' technical agency for aviation, the
International Civil Aviation Organization
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...
(ICAO).
History of the IASA Program
In the aftermath of the January 25, 1990, crash of
Avianca flight 52 on Long Island, New York, questions emerged about how the FAA conducted safety oversight of foreign air carriers flying into the United States. In response to a five-part
Newsday
''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...
series on the poor safety record of some foreign airlines that appeared in December 1990,
the FAA established the IASA program in 1992.
IASA Category Ratings
Following an IASA audit, a country is assigned one of two ratings:
*Category 1 (Meets ICAO standards): The FAA has assessed the country's civil aviation authority and determined that it licenses aviation personnel and oversees air carrier operations and airworthiness in accordance with ICAO aviation safety standards;
or
*Category 2 (Does not meet ICAO standards): The FAA has assessed the country's civil aviation authority and determined that it does not provide safety oversight of its air carrier operators in accordance with the minimum safety oversight standards established by ICAO.
Carriers from Category 2 countries are allowed to continue operating to the United States as before the assessment, but are not allowed to expand their service to the US or
codeshare
A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
with US carriers. Additionally, such carriers may be subject to heightened ramp inspections.
Current ratings
References
External links
IASA Programat the
FAA website
Aviation safety organizations
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