US downgrades Pakistan's CAA ranking to category 2  

WASHINGTON: United States (US) aviation regulators have downgraded the safety ranking of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) on Wednesday, ARY NEWS reported.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a US aviation regulator,  made a formal announcement to downgrade the ranking of the CAA and added it to a category 2.

It said that the CAA safety standard does not meet the requirements of minimum standard for aviation safety. The FAA said that they have found the CAA standards below the mark and it even neglected safety standards for the US flights.

A Category 1 rating means the country’s civil aviation authority complies with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards. With an IASA Category 1 rating, a country’s air carriers can establish service to the United States and carry the code of U.S. carriers.

A Category 2 International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) rating means that the aviation authority is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping, and/or inspection procedures.

On July 09, the United States (US) suspended the authorization for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to operate in the country over the alleged fake licences scandal.

Read More: PIA flights to Europe suspended for six months

According to a declaration issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the authority has imposed a ban on PIA owing to safety concerns.

The US has suspended the flight operations of PIA to and from its airports immediately, read the statement.

It is pertinent to mention here that US transport department had earlier allowed PIA to operation 12 flights in the country but the special permission has been cancelled today.