Guyana gearing towards FAA category 1 Flight Status

Jan 09, 2020 News

Guyana is once again on its way to operating a domestic airline at an international level. This was revealed by Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Jaipaul Sharma, yesterday, during the Ministry’s Year-in-Review.

Federal Aviation Administration Logo

Sharma said that the Ministry projects an “on site assessment of Guyana’s compliance with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization)…as early as January 14, 2020.” He added that “when this is completed, Guyana will be ready to apply to the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) for Category One Status.”
Gaining Category One Status will allow Domestic Airlines to operate direct flights to the United States of America (USA), since Guyana will be in compliance with all of the FAA’s regulations.
ICAO is a United Nations (UN) specialised agency, which was established in 1944 to manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention).
The organisation works to ensure that the Convention’s 193 Member States and industry groups reach a general agreement and work in harmony on international civil aviation Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and policies.
This will help to create a safe, efficient, secure, economically sustainable and environmentally responsible civil aviation sector.
These SARPs and policies are used as guidelines by the Member States to ensure that their local civil aviation operations and regulations are in keeping with global practices.
After meeting ICAO’s requirements, Guyana will be in compliance with the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme set up by the FAA to determine whether another country’s oversight of its air carriers that operate, or seek to operate, into the USA, or code share with a US air carrier, complies with the safety standards established by the ICAO.

The IASA programme is administered by the FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety (AVS), Flight Standards Service (AFS), International Programs and Policy Division (AFS-50).

The programme focuses on a country’s ability, to adhere to international aviation safety standards and recommended practices contained in Annex 1; Personnel Licensing, Annex 6; Operation of Aircraft, and Annex 8; Airworthiness of Aircraft to the International Convention on Civil Aviation.

IASA assessments determine compliance with these international standards by focusing on each critical element (CE) of an effective aviation safety oversight authority specified in ICAO Safety Oversight Manual. In order to qualify for Category One status Guyana will have to meet the eight critical elements of ICAO’s Safety requirements.
These are: (CE-1) Primary Aviation Legislation; (CE-2) Specific operating regulations;
(CE-3) State civil aviation system and safety oversight functions; (CE-4) Technical personnel qualification and training; (CE-5) Technical guidance, tools and the provision of safety critical information; (CE-6) Licensing, certification, authorisation, and approval obligations; (CE-7) Surveillance obligations; (CE-8)Resolution of safety concerns.

It is important to note that the IASA does not evaluate the safety compliance of any particular air carrier, individual aviation security, airports, or air traffic management. It only assesses the compliance of Member States as it relates to the ICAO’s Regulations for International Civil Aviation SARPS.

During its initial evaluation, Guyana was given a Category 2 Status, but is currently uncategorised since there is no local Airline operating at the International level.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News