FAA downgrades Russia's air safety rating due to non-compliance with ICAO

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on April 21, 2022 that it had downgraded Russia’s air safety rating.

The administration cited Russia’s Federal Agency for Air Transport failure to comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards as the reason for the downgrade, which will restrict any service expansion or partnership between Russian airlines and the US.

According to the FAA, air carriers from countries with Category 2 ratings are not allowed to initiate new service to the United States, are restricted to current levels of existing service to the United States, and are not permitted to carry the code of U.S. carriers on any flights. 

A Category 1 rating means the country’s civil aviation authority complies with ICAO standards. This rating allows air carriers from that country to establish service to the United States and to carry the code of U.S. carriers through code-sharing arrangements.

Currently, no airlines operate regularly scheduled flights between Russia and the United States. 

The downgrade came less than 10 days after the European Commission added 21 Russian airlines to the EU Air Safety List, banning them from operating within the European Union.