Malaysia’s air safety rating lowered
Malaysian carriers have been barred from starting new flights to the US. The Federal Aviation Administration has downgraded the Asian country’s air safety rating, a move that’ll also mean additional checks on Malaysia-registered airlines at American airports. According to the FAA, its Malaysian counterpart is “deficient in one or more areas” such as technical expertise, record-keeping and inspection procedures. The move stalls AirAsia X’s plans to add new transpacific routes and threatens flag carrier Malaysian Airlines' codesharing pacts with its partners.