New FAA Safety Ratings for Curaçao and St Maarten

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that Curaçao and St Maarten “do not comply with international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),” following an assessment of each country’s civil aviation authority. As a result, the FAA has assigned both countries an International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Category 2 rating.

Under Category 2 status air carriers from Curaçao and St Maarten will not be permitted to establish any new services to the US, although they can continue existing flights. Both countries were previously part of the Netherlands Antilles, which had a Category 1 rating. The ruling means that countries either lack laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or that its civil aviation authority – equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters – is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping or inspection procedures.

At the current time InselAir is the only local operator to provide links from the islands to the US with services from Curaçao to Charlotte Douglas and Miami International and from St Maarten to San Juan in Puerto Rico. These routes can continue, although any plans to potentially further expand in the US will have to be put on hold until a new audit is completed or will have to be operated in partnership with an overseas carrier.