(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The FAA lowered the rating to Category 2 from Category 1, Ajit Singh, India's civil aviation minister, said in New Delhi on Friday. Singh said he was disappointed with the downgrade and added there was no reason to think of any retaliatory action
The downgrade - bringing India equal with Zimbabwe, Paraguay and Indonesia - means the country's carriers can't start new services to the US, and their planes are subjected to additional inspections at airports there. The move is also a blow to the South Asian nation's efforts to boost the aviation industry after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government eased investment rules and spent billions of dollars to upgrade more than a dozen airports
Two of 31 aviation issues raised by the FAA still remain unresolved, Singh told reporters
State-owned Air India Limited and Jet Airways (India) Limited are only two carriers from India that have services to the US. Indian carriers have ordered hundreds of aircraft from Boeing and Airbus Group as they expand in one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world. Singh's decision in September 2012 to ease investment rules have attracted AirAsia and Singapore Airlines to start new ventures in the nation of 1.2 billion people
AirAsia and Singapore Air have both tied up with India's Tata Group for separate ventures while Etihad Airways has bought a stake in Jet Airways. They are seeking to tap a market where passenger numbers forecast to triple to 452 million by 2020
The FAA also doesn't support reciprocal code-share arrangements between Category 2 nations and US carriers, according to its website. Jet Airways has a code-share pact with United Continental Holdings.
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