Rule2022-21085
Changes to the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Program
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Published
September 28, 2022
Effective
September 28, 2022
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration
Abstract
This document describes policy changes, clarification, or restatement to the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program to enhance engagement with civil aviation authorities (CAAs) through pre- and post-IASA assessment and to promote greater transparency. The FAA is making these changes to IASA policy to better meet the FAA's mission and safety expectations of the U.S. traveling public; better mitigate international civil aviation safety risks; strengthen international relationships with CAAs toward sustained success in maintaining or obtaining proper safety oversight; and improve effectiveness, integration, and efficiency in executing the IASA process. This docuent modifies the IASA policies previously announced by the FAA.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 187 (Wednesday, September 28, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 28, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 58725-58727]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21085]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 129
Changes to the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA)
Program
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Policy statement.
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SUMMARY: This document describes policy changes, clarification, or
restatement to the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment
(IASA) program to enhance engagement with civil aviation authorities
(CAAs) through pre- and post-IASA assessment and to promote greater
transparency. The FAA is making these changes to IASA policy to better
meet the FAA's mission and safety expectations of the U.S. traveling
public; better mitigate international civil aviation safety risks;
strengthen international relationships with CAAs toward sustained
success in maintaining or obtaining proper safety oversight; and
improve effectiveness, integration, and efficiency in executing the
IASA process. This docuent modifies the IASA policies previously
announced by the FAA.
DATES: This policy modification is effective September 28, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rolandos Lazaris, Division Manager,
International Program Division (AFS-50), Flight Standards Service,
Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW,
Washington, DC 20591; (202) 267-3719, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e2b08d8e838c868d91cc8e839883908b91a2848383cc858d94"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3a6855565b545e554914565b405b4853497a5c5b5b145d554c">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The IASA program is the means by which the FAA determines whether
another country's oversight of its air carriers that operate, or seek
to operate, into the U.S., or code-share with a U.S. air carrier,
complies with safety standards established by the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO). The published IASA results of Category 1
or Category 2 is notification to the U.S. traveling public of safety
issues. Public notification of the IASA program was established by a
Federal Register (FR) notification. As with this recent Federal
Register document, subsequent milestones in the evolution of the
program were also published in the Federal Register. These
notifications are as follows:
<bullet> August 24, 1992--established the FAA Procedures for
Examining and Monitoring Foreign Air Carriers (57 FR 38342).
<bullet> September 8, 1994--established the Public Disclosure of
the Results of Foreign Civil Aviation Authority Assessments, through a
three-category numbered rating system. (59 FR 46332).
<bullet> October 31, 1995--DOT notice Clarification Concerning
Examination of Foreign Carriers' Request for Expanded Economic
Authority, clarified the Department's licensing policy regarding
requests for expanded economic authority from foreign air carriers
whose CAA's safety oversight capability has been assessed by the FAA as
conditional (Category II) or unacceptable (Category III) (60 FR 55408).
<bullet> May 25, 2000--Changes to the International Aviation Safety
Assessment Program removed the Category 3 rating and combined it with
Category 2 (65 FR 33751).
<bullet> March 8, 2013--Changes to the International Aviation
Safety Assessment Program removed inactive countries (countries with no
air carrier operations to the United States or code-shares with U.S.
operators for four years and no significant interaction between the
country's CAA and the FAA) from the IASA Category list (78 FR 14912).
Through its IASA program, the FAA seeks continuous improvement to
achieve even greater global aviation safety levels. As noted in the
above-referenced Federal Register notification of September 8, 1994,
initial IASA assessments found that two-thirds of the CAAs assessed had
deficiencies in safety oversight obligations under the Convention on
International Civil Aviation. As broad evidence of the program's
effectiveness, now 90% of countries with an IASA rating achieved
Category 1 and meet ICAO standards. The following changes are intended
to further enhance the IASA program and strenghthen safety oversight
worldwide.
[[Page 58726]]
IASA Program Policy Changes, Clarification, or Restatement
The following paragraphs describe policy changes, clarification, or
restatement to the FAA's IASA program to enhance engagement with CAAs
through pre- and post-IASA assessment and to promote greater
transparency.
Clarification of Definition of What the IASA Categories Mean
The FAA is clarifying the IASA Category definitions to align them
with the types of operations that require an IASA Category rating and
therefore demonstrate the need for FAA oversight. The notification,
published on March 8, 2013,\1\ states the definitions as, ``Category 1
means that the FAA has found that the country meets ICAO standards for
safety oversight of civil aviation. Category 2 means that the FAA has
found that the country does not meet those standards.'' The
notification further states that ``the IASA category rating applies
only to services to and from the United States and to code-share
operations when the code of a U.S. air carrier is placed on a foreign
carrier flight. The category ratings do not apply to a foreign
carrier's domestic flights or to flights by that carrier between its
homeland and a third country. The assessment team looks at those
flights only to the extent that they reflect on the country's oversight
of operations to and from the United States and to code-share
operations where a U.S. air carrier code is placed on a flight
conducted by a foreign operator.'' Not combining this applicability
into the Category definitions has given the public a mistaken
perception of the FAA oversight of all operators in that country. The
FAA exercises oversight authority of foreign operators with direct
service to the United States through issuance and oversight of
operations specifications (OpSpecs) issued to 14 CFR part 129
operators. This requires the FAA to engage in regular contact with the
relevant foreign CAA as to various aspects of these operations. When a
U.S. operator places its code on a foreign operator's flight, part 129
OpSpecs are not required, but those code-share arrangements are subject
to regular audits accceptable to the U.S. Department of Transportation
(U.S. DOT) under the U.S. Code-Share Program Guidelines. The FAA has no
oversight authority for other air operator operations of the applicable
CAA outside of these two instances. Therefore, the FAA is clarifying
its IASA Category definitions as follows:
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\1\ 78 FR 14912.
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<bullet> Category 1, Does Comply with ICAO Standards: The FAA has
found that the country meets ICAO standards for safety oversight of
civil aviation. Pursuant to category 1, a country's operators may
pursue direct service to the United States or code-sharing partnership
with U.S. air carriers where a U.S. air carrier places its codes on
flights operated by a foreign carrier(s).
<bullet> Category 2, Does Not Comply with ICAO Standards: The FAA
has found that the country does not meet those standards for safety
oversight.
Change in the Criteria for Country Removal From the IASA List for
Inactivity
The policy, established in the March 8, 2013 Federal Register
notification, allows for the removal of a country from the IASA
category listing after four years of inactivity. The three criteria for
removal are: a country has no air carrier providing air transport
service to the United States; the country has no air carrier that
participates in a code-share arrangement with U.S. air carriers; and
the CAA does not interact significantly with the FAA. The FAA
experience and analysis indicate that IASA information is not reliable
two years after an initial assessment or reassessment without the
safety oversight interaction between the FAA and foreign CAA, such as
when there is an operator conducting U.S. air service and holding FAA
OpSpecs under part 129, when a U.S. operator places its code on a
foreign operator's flights, or when the FAA is providing technical
assistance based on identified areas of non-compliance to international
standards for safety oversight. Absent such interaction, any other
engagement between the FAA and a foreign CAA is not a reliable
indicator of the CAA's safety oversight capabilities in accordance with
ICAO standards.
The removal criteria published in 2013 no longer meet the need for
timeliness and accuracy of information on the IASA Category Rating
list. The 2013 criteria leave Category 1 countries on the list for an
extended period of time and may give the U.S. traveling public a false
sense of safety. Also, leaving Category 2 countries on the list for an
extended period of time can be perceived as unfairly penalizing those
countries when there has been no activity since the Category 2 rating
was issued. As a result, the FAA will reduce the removal benchmark from
four years to two years absent the interaction described above.
Clarification as to When an IASA Will Be Performed in a Country With No
IASA Category Rating
The FAA will perform an IASA of countries with no IASA Category
rating after an operator from that country files an economic authority
application with the U.S. DOT for either direct U.S. service with its
own aircraft and crew, or a code-share that involves the foreign
operator displaying the code of a U.S. operator.In many requests for an
IASA, the country either does not have an operator or its operator may
not yet have the aircraft type needed to provide service to the United
States. This clarification in policy is intended to ensure that an
initial IASA is used for its intended purpose of ensuring that the CAA
and its operator(s) have each taken the necessary measures to manage
and oversee such operations in accordance with ICAO standards, and also
to maintain the accuracy of the IASA Category Rating list by not
listing countries with no operations that meet the IASA applicability
criteria.
Explanation of the Risk Analysis Process Used to Determine Countries of
High Risk for IASA Reassessment
Risk Analysis To Determine IASA Category 1 Countries for Reassessment
The FAA uses a risk analysis process to identify IASA Category 1
countries for reassessment. The risk analysis is performed, at least
annually and whenever new safety information is obtained, on each
country on the IASA Category Rating list to determine countries of
highest risk to the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS) and the U.S.
traveling public. The risk analysis was developed by FAA experts in
this field, and is comprised of individual risk elements and grouped
into the following five major IASA risk categories:
1. DOT Economic Authority--New or existing U.S. DOT economic
authority; U.S. service under part 129; new or current code-share
involving display of U.S. operator code on foreign operator flights;
and any USDOT administrative emphasis items and initiatives.
2. Governance and Safety Culture--Areas of interest include:
contracting of safety oversight functions; carrier wet lease to
airlines of other countries; safety items identified by the CAA remain
unresolved or not addressed; complaints received by FAA from other
CAAs, operators, manufacturers, and the traveling public.
3. IASA Information--Time passed since the last IASA, and other
factors that indicate the Category 1 rating may no longer be valid.
[[Page 58727]]
4. ICAO Requirements--Risk concerns include: negative ICAO
Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program (USOAP) findings indicating
noncompliance with one or more of the eight critical elements of safety
oversight; ICAO reports indicating noncompliance with Standards and
Recommended Practices (SARPs); inaction with respect to ICAO action
plans; ICAO USOAP information over two years old thus limiting its
value.
5. FAA Information--FAA has safety concerns about the oversight
provided by the CAA, which include the areas of: FAA and foreign ramp
inspections; safety-related complaints about carrier(s) from other
CAAs; active technical assistance activities; compliance issues are
present in FAA certificated or approved entities in the country;
Congressional inquiries; and existing bilateral agreement
implementation procedures.
Change To Introduce a New, Informal Process for Engagement With CAAs
Identified for IASA Reassessment
In support of the FAA's objective of improving communications with
CAAs of IASA Category 1 countries identified as priorities through the
FAA's risk analysis, the FAA will exercise discretion to provide CAAs
with informal notification of safety concerns and request discussions
with CAAs prior to the initiation of the formal IASA process. If such
safety concerns have not been satisfactorily addressed, the FAA will
begin the formal IASA notification process. The FAA will retain its
ability to initiate immediate IASA category changes or IASA assessments
when justified based on available safety information. The discretion to
engage informally is to make CAAs aware of potential defiencies in
safety oversight to enable more efficient resolution.
Change To Introduce New Risk Mitigation Measures When Countries Have
Been Notified of High Risk Concerns That Would Trigger an IASA
Reassessment
This mitigation is twofold and involves limits to foreign
operations to the United States and code-share arrangements with
operators from countries for which the FAA has identified safety
oversight concerns and limits on certain bilateral agreements. These
changes will provide the U.S. traveling public and the U.S. air
transportation system with an added measure of safety mitigation and
freedom from external pressures to delay safety oversight
responsibilities.
<bullet> Limitations on foreign operations to the United States and
code-share arrangements. Upon FAA notification to a CAA of the FAA's
safety concern and identification for an IASA reassessment, the FAA
will limit the direct service to the United States and the display of
U.S. operators' codes on foreign operators of that country to current
levels.
<bullet> Limits on certain bilateral agreements. The FAA will
communicate to the CAA that the FAA will cease reciprocal acceptance of
any approvals or certifications under existing Bilateral Aviation
Safety Agreement (BASA) implementation procedures (IP) for which the
CAA may be responsible for issuing. These risk mitigation actions will
increase transparency during the time between informal notification of
the potential need for an IASA and the conclusion of the formal IASA
process.
CAA Completion of the IASA Checklist Prior to an Assessment or
Reassessment
The FAA currently requests that the CAA provide a completed IASA
checklist (available on the FAA website) prior to the FAA conducting an
IASA; however, the FAA has not explicitly identified this step in past
IASA policy statements. While not mandatory, it is in the CAA's best
interest to complete the checklist in preparation for safety oversight
discussions. The CAA's provision of a completed IASA checklist in
advance of the assessment, whether initial assessment or reassessment,
will facilitate an efficient and effective assessment review.
Transmittal of IASA Results
This is a restatement of current policy. Once an IASA has been
completed, the FAA will provide any findings of noncompliance with ICAO
standards. Subsequently, the FAA will provide the results of the
assessment to the CAA through an established cable process. If there
are no findings of noncompliance with ICAO standards in the IASA
report, the cable will reflect that the country will receive an IASA
Category 1 rating. If there have been any findings of noncompliance
with applicable ICAO standards, the FAA will provide the CAA with the
opportunity to provide evidence to the FAA of the actions it has taken
since the IASA to correct any findings of noncompliance.
IASA Final Discussions
This is a restatement of current policy. During the final
discussions, the FAA will review each IASA finding of noncompliance
with the CAA, the CAA's corrective action since the IASA, and the
status of the finding as either open or closed. This will be documented
in a Record of Discussions, and the record will be signed by both the
FAA and the CAA. The final assignment of an IASA Category rating will
be transmitted to the CAA through the cable process.
Incorporation of FAA and CAA Development of a Corrective Action Plan
(CAP) Upon Notification of an IASA Category 2 Rating
For additional communication and support for a country downgraded
to an IASA Category 2 rating, the FAA will provide the CAA with a CAP
to address its safety oversight deficiencies and will conduct a virtual
meeting with the CAA to establish timelines for completion. This will
allow the CAA to begin work on its safety oversight findings at the
conclusion of the IASA process without delay. Should the CAA request
FAA technical assistance implementation of its CAP, this would require
a government-to-government agreement.
Restatement of the Current Practice Regarding Reassessment of IASA
Category 2 Countries
To restate current FAA policy, a country with an IASA Category 2
rating may request a reassessment in an attempt to obtain a Category 1
rating. A CAP, as discussed above, showing the CAA's action on
resolving the identified safety oversight items is one way of providing
evidence of CAA readiness for an IASA reassessment.
Issued in Washington, DC, on September 23, 2022.
Jodi L. Baker,
Deputy Administrator for Aviation Safety.
[FR Doc. 2022-21085 Filed 9-26-22; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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