Dr Wee: Malaysia officially reinstated to Category 1 of IASA

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has been officially reinstated to Category 1 of the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA).

This comes after the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) completed all corrective actions to satisfy the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s strict safety requirement.

“This is truly a boon to Malaysia and our aviation industry,” said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong on Facebook on Saturday (Oct 8).

“I thanked the US Embassy to Malaysia’s economic counselor Dave Williams and economic officer Issac Jenkins for coming to the Transport Ministry to deliver the letters.

“Williams expressed the Embassy’s admiration for the tenacity and fortitude shown by CAAM in resolving all the outstanding issues that brought Malaysia to Category 2 in November 2019.

Dr Wee said both countries agreed that the reinstatement was made at the right time as aviation recovery takes off in earnest and more people yearn to travel.

“I noted that the reinstatement also played a role in Malaysia retaining its council seat in Part lll of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) assembly on Oct 4.

“Several fellow ICAO member states have also applauded Malaysia’s regaining Category 1 and wanted to learn from our experience in doing so during our many bilateral meetings in Montreal, Canada recently.

“The economic counsellor and I congratulated both the CAAM and FAA for this achievement and we look forward to working together further in aviation and transport while CAAM continues to work with the FAA to maintain this position,” added Dr Wee.