The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has downgraded Israel's safety rating to Category 2, following an assessment made last July of the Israel Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA). The rating, by the FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program, is not related to security issues.
The Category 2 rating means that Israeli carriers will not be allowed to establish new service to the US. The ICAA is addressing the items identified, including working with the FAA on an aggressive action plan to correct all areas of concern so that their safety oversight system fully complies with standards and practices set by the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Israel has maintained a Category 1 rating since November 1995, meaning that the ICAA complied with all ICAO safety standards. A Category 2 rating means that a country lacks the ICAO-compliant laws or regulations necessary to oversee airlines, or that its civil aviation authority does not meet international technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping, or inspection procedures standards.
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) COO and acting CEO Captain Lior Yavor said in response, "This is a black day for Israeli aviation. El Al takes the FAA decision and its consequences very seriously. The announcement regards the ICAA, not the country's airlines."
Yavor added, "El Al is among the safest airlines, and together with leading international carries complies with the highest civil aviation safety and operating standards. We at El Al expect the Israeli government and the Knesset to take full responsibility for this serious decision, and to immediately and fully share in the costs accruing to Israeli airlines as a result, including the financing of security, which the government promised months ago. El Al expects the government to act with every means to restore Israel's Category 1 rating."
El Al's flights to the US will continue.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 21, 2008
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008