The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has downgraded the air safety for Russia. Now, Russia is in Category 2, which restricts any expansion of service or partnerships since the country’s Federal Agency for Air Transport (Rosaviatsiya) does not comply with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards.
Down to Category 2
Under the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program, the FAA determined that Russia’s civil aviation authorities do not comply with ICAO’s safety standards. Therefore, it has decided to downgrade Russia to Category 2 rating.
The decision to downgrade Russia to Category 2 status was taken nearly two months after Russia invaded Ukraine. Following the invasion, the Russian economy has been sanctioned by Western countries, including its civil aviation. Among other sanctions, Russian airlines now have more difficulties obtaining spare parts for their aircraft.
By degrading Russia into Category 2 status, the United States is effectively freezing the ability of Russian airlines to add new services to the North American country. They are restricted to current levels of existing service to the United States and are not permitted to carry the code of US carriers on any flights.
Currently, no airlines operate regularly scheduled flights between Russia and the United States.
Russia joins Venezuela, Mexico, Pakistan, and more
Presently, 15 countries, including Russia, are downgraded to Category 2 by the FAA, according to the latest IASA data.
These countries are Bangladesh, Curaçao, Ghana, Malaysia, Mexico, the members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and St. Kitts and Nevis), Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, and Venezuela.
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Under the IASA program, the FAA assesses the civil aviation authorities of all countries with air carriers that have applied to fly to the United States, currently conduct operations to the United States, or participate in codesharing arrangements with US partner airlines. While currently, no commercial airlines operate between Russia and the United States, some did until a couple of months ago.
IASA assessments determine whether foreign civil aviation authorities comply with ICAO safety standards. ICAO establishes international standards and recommended safety practices for aircraft operations and maintenance. A Category 1 rating means the country’s civil aviation authority complies with ICAO standards.
What will happen when the sanctions end?
Nearly a year ago, the FAA downgraded Mexico to Category 2 status. The FAA took this decision in the midst of a commercial aviation crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For a while, the Mexican airlines feared they could be restricted to the existing service in May 2021 (which was highly depressed compared to the service levels they had to the United States in 2019); in the end, the FAA decided to use the pre-COVID service levels as a guideline. By taking this decision, the Mexican airlines were able to recover 100% of their pre-pandemic capacity levels in flights to the United States, therefore avoiding a bigger hit on their recovery. It is uncertain if the FAA will react the same way with Russia.
As the FAA stated, “currently, no airlines operate regularly scheduled flights between Russia and the United States.”
Based on that line, even if the Russian invasion of Ukraine ends and Western countries lift the sanctions, it could be possible that the Russian airlines cannot resume their pre-invasion and pre-COVID flights to the United States. This would directly impact Aeroflot, which had flights to New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, and a codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines and S7, which was a member of the oneworld alliance until it was temporarily suspended earlier this week. Alaska Airlines and American Airlines are also members of the oneworld alliance.
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