WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. State Department intends to provide an additional $400,000 in support of aviation safety initiatives in the Caribbean region.
The intended funds are in addition to $800,000 the United States has granted the Caribbean for the same purpose through the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over the past four years.
FAA administrator Marion Blakey announced the intended U.S. funding for the Caribbean during an August 2 speech in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Blakey spoke to a meeting of transportation ministers from the 15-nation bloc of Caribbean nations known as CARICOM.
Blakey said the U.S. funds have been used to provide technical and legal assistance, and for training and infrastructure improvements to help countries in the Caribbean maintain or achieve what is called Category I status regarding the safety of their aviation operations. Category I means a country’s civil aviation authority has been found by FAA to be licensing and overseeing their air carriers in accordance with aviation safety standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Countries with air carriers that fly to the United States must adhere to the safety standards of ICAO, the U.N. technical agency that establishes international standards and issues recommendations regarding aircraft operations and maintenance.
Carriers from countries with a lower Category II rating may continue existing operations into the United States but are subject to heightened FAA surveillance.
A State Department official said in an interview that the intended $400,000 for Caribbean aviation would come from economic support funds of the Third Border Initiative. That initiative, unveiled by President Bush at the 2001 Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, provides funding and training in the Caribbean for such programs as aviation safety, the fight against HIV/AIDS, disaster preparedness, and environmental management.
The official said the funds are designed to “standardize” regional civil aviation safety regulations in the Caribbean.
