U.S. aviation watchdog retains India’s safety category after review

Subject : International Relations

Section :International Organizations

Concept :

The Federal Aviation Administration, which is the aviation safety regulator of the U.S., has retained the “Category 1” status for India’s aviation safety oversight.

International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme

The International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme of the Federal Aviation Administration checks if a country’s oversight of its airlines that operate or wish to operate to the U.S. or enter into codeshare partnerships with the U.S. complies with the safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is a specialised agency of the UN.
The IASA programme focuses mainly on three broad areas namely personnel licensing, operation of aircraft and airworthiness of aircraft.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has met the international standards for aviation safety oversight of the Chicago Convention.

Chicago Convention

The Chicago Convention established the core principles permitting international transport by air, and also led to the creation of the ICAO.
ICAO was created in 1944 by the Chicago Convention in order to promote the safe and orderly development of civil aviation around the world.

Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme Continuous Monitoring Approach

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) was established in 1999.
It aims to promote global aviation safety.
It is done through regular audits of ICAO Member States to determine their ability to maintain their safety oversight systems.
This enables the State to ensure the implementation of ICAO’s safety-related Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and associated procedures and guidance material.
In addition, it provides ICAO with a means to continuously monitor the States’ fulfillment of their safety oversight obligations.
The programme is managed by the Monitoring and Oversight office within the Air Navigation Bureau.