The US Federal Aviation Administration has decided not to downgrade Peru to Category 2 status under its International Air Safety Assessment (IASA) programme, but asked Peru officials to block AeroContinente from flying to the USA. As a result, the airline's US rights have been suspended, and the IASA programme has lost some of its clarity.
The FAA has always insisted that the programme is directed at nations, not airlines. IASA's purpose is to ensure that civil aviation authorities meet international safety standards. If they do, evaluation of local airlines is up to those authorities.
But the AeroContinente case raises tough issues because allegations of drug-trafficking and money-laundering have plagued the airline for years. US authorities recently decided to review the resident visa of founder Fernando Zevallos, even though he was cleared in earlier investigations. The authorities have told US government personnel not to fly AeroContinente. A Chilean judge is seeking extradition of Zevallos and his sister, who serves as the airline's president. Peru's transport minister has also grounded two AeroContinente aircraft.
These events prompted an FAA visit to Lima. According to Peru's transport minister, the FAA reconfirmed Peru's status under IASA, but raised a number of safety issues about AeroContinente.
Source: Airline Business
