MEXICO · AVIATION · TRAVEL
Key Facts
- The country Mexico, the US’s southern neighbour, is tied to the United States by daily flights run by Mexican and US airlines.
- What happened Mexico’s civil aviation agency received a US audit on Wednesday 14 October listing 21 items it must fix to keep its top rating.
- The findings The 21 Mexico air safety observations are technical, operational and administrative, covering rules, manuals, inspections, training and staff.
- The timeline US inspectors return in December to check the fixes, and Mexico learns the final result in February 2027.
- The stake A downgrade would freeze Mexican airlines’ US service at current levels, with no new routes or other changes allowed.
- Power Index Mexico ranks 2nd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 71.4 points (October 2026 edition).
A US audit of Mexico air safety oversight has found 21 gaps that Mexico must close to keep its top rating. Mexico’s aviation agency said on Wednesday 14 October it had received the report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US air regulator.
The rating decides whether Aeroméxico, Mexico’s flag carrier, and the low-cost airlines Volaris and Viva Aerobus can add flights to the United States. If Mexico fails, those airlines could keep their current US routes but would be barred from adding new ones, as happened between 2021 and 2023.
What the US Audit Found
The Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) is the Mexican government body that licenses and oversees the country’s airlines. It said the report covers the assessment FAA inspectors carried out in Mexico in August, the Mexico City daily El Universal reported.
According to the agency’s statement, carried by El Universal and the news site Quadratín, the FAA reviewed 339 items and set out 21 observations. They are technical, operational and administrative, covering rules, circulars and manuals and the agency’s programmes for inspection, training and staff.
The audit is part of the FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment programme, which rates countries rather than individual airlines. It checks whether a country’s aviation authority meets the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the UN aviation body.
The on-site part of the Mexico air safety review ran from Monday 10 to Friday 14 August, the Mexican agency said at the time. It expected the final report within about 60 days, the Mexico City daily La Crónica de Hoy reported on 17 August.
December Visit, February Verdict
FAA inspectors will visit the Mexican agency in December to check how it has dealt with the 21 observations. The FAA will then give its Mexico air safety verdict in February 2027, El Universal reported.
If the agency corrects the findings, Mexico keeps Category 1, the FAA’s top grade, El Financiero reported. If it cannot show that it oversees its airlines properly, a downgrade notice could follow in February.
For now, the Mexican agency says the country keeps Category 1 and its airlines can go on expanding US operations and frequencies. Each new service still needs the necessary authorisation, El Universal noted.
Hours before the report arrived, Tania Carro Toledo, a deputy secretary at the infrastructure and transport ministry (SICT) that oversees the agency, sounded confident. “We are working very hard to have a good result,” she told reporters at an aviation forum, the news agency Agencia Reforma reported.
What a Downgrade Would Mean
Under FAA rules, airlines from a Category 2 country may keep flying to the United States at current levels, under closer FAA surveillance. Any expansion or change in their US services is prohibited, unless they lease aircraft and crews from a US carrier or a Category 1 airline.
That is the freeze Mexico lived through after the FAA cut it to Category 2 on 25 May 2021. The FAA restored the top grade on 14 September 2023, after more than two years of technical help to the Mexican agency.
During those years, US airlines could not sell seats under their own codes on flights run by Mexican carriers, the FAA said in 2021. After the upgrade, Jorge Nuño Lara, then Mexico’s transport minister, told Radio Fórmula the three largest Mexican airlines had asked for new US routes.
What It Means for You
For US travellers, nothing changes for now, because Mexico keeps its Category 1 rating while it works on the 21 observations. The real test comes in December, when FAA inspectors return to check the Mexico air safety fixes.
A downgrade would stop new growth rather than existing service. Volaris plans four new US routes from 1 December, linking Guadalajara, Puebla and Querétaro with Washington Dulles, Atlanta, Chicago and Las Vegas.
In August, the outlet Mexico Business News named Aeroméxico, Volaris and Viva Aerobus as the airlines a downgrade would hit. Carlos Torres, an independent aviation analyst it quoted, said tighter supply could push up cross-border fares, as happened between 2021 and 2023.
What Is Not Known
The full list of the 21 Mexico air safety observations has not been made public, so it is unclear which are hardest to fix. The exact date of the December visit has not been announced either.
The FAA declined to comment on audits still in progress, El Financiero reported, and it is not known whether its February verdict will be published. Mexico has not said how many inspectors or how much money it will add to meet the deadline.
More: Mexico news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the FAA’s Category 1 rating?
It is the FAA’s top grade, meaning a country licenses and oversees its airlines in line with international safety standards. Countries rated Category 2 fall short of those standards in the FAA’s view.
Does this affect my flight to Mexico?
Not for now, because Mexico keeps Category 1 and existing flights are unchanged. Any downgrade would come after the FAA’s verdict, which is due in February 2027.
What happened the last time Mexico was downgraded?
The FAA cut Mexico to Category 2 in May 2021, freezing Mexican airlines’ US growth and blocking code-share sales by US partners. Mexico regained Category 1 on 14 September 2023.
What must Mexico fix?
The 21 observations cover updating rules, circulars and manuals, and strengthening programmes for inspection, training and staff. The FAA returns in December to check the Mexico air safety work.
Sources: Federal Aviation Administration, Mexico safety assessment results, 25 May 2021; Federal Aviation Administration, IASA definitions, 26 September 2022; Federal Aviation Administration, IASA programme results, 18 April 2025; Federal Aviation Administration, IASA programme, 16 April 2026; El Universal, 14 October 2026; El Financiero, 14 October 2026; Quadratín México, 14 October 2026; El Diario de Chihuahua (Agencia Reforma), 14 October 2026; La Crónica de Hoy, 17 August 2026; Mexico Business News, 13 August 2026; Volaris, 7 August 2026; El CEO, 14 September 2023; Mexico Business News, 14 September 2023; IATA, 14 September 2023.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief