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DOT 107-03
Contact: Bill Mosley
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Tel.: (202) 366-5571
U.S. Transportation Secretary Mineta
Announces Cape Verde Success Under Safe Skies
For Africa Program; Paves Way for U.S.-Cape Verde Scheduled Scheduled Air
Servicess
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta today
announced that the African nation Cape Verde meets international standards for
aviation safety and has been awarded a Category 1 rating by the U.S. Department
of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Cape Verde is a participant in the Safe Skies for Africa Program, under which
the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Department of State
have worked closely with a number of African nations to promote sustainable
improvements in aviation safety and security and to support Africa’s integration
into the global economy. Cape Verde is the first Safe Skies nation to achieve a
Category 1 rating. With the Category 1 rating, Cape Verde’s national carrier,
Cape Verde’s national carrier, TACV,, may apply to apply to initiate scheduled
service to the United States.
“This achievement is a product of hard work by Cape Verde’s government and its
desire to achieve the highest standards of aviation safety,” Secretary Mineta
said. “We will continue to work with our other Safe Skies partners to improve
aviation safety and security across Africa. Cape Verde’s leaders can be proud
of this historic accomplishment.”
Safe Skies for Africa, which was launched in 1998, initially included Angola,
Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mali, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Djibouti
and Uganda were subsequently added.
To help Cape Verde achieve the top ranking, FAA flight standards personnel
provided technical assistance and the FAA Academy provided training. An FAA
team performed an assessment under the International Aviation Safe Assessment (IASA)
program. The FAA’s assessment found that Cape Verde met the safety oversight
standards of ICAO, the United Nations’ technical agency for aviation that
establishes international standards and recommended practices for aircraft
operations and maintenance.
IASA assessments are not an indication of whether individual foreign carriers
are safe or unsafe. Rather, they determine whether or not foreign civil aviation
authorities (CAA) are meeting ICAO safety standards, not FAA regulations.
Countries with air carriers that fly to the United States must adhere to the
safety standards of ICAO.
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