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HISTORY During the forty second special meeting of COCESNA Board of Directors held in El Salvador on 15 December 1999, Agencia Centroamericana para la Seguridad Aeronáutica (Central American Agency for Aeronautical Safety) was created as an office of Corporación Centroamericana de Servicios de Navegación Aérea (Central American Corporation for Air Navigation Services). Furthermore, on 12 May 2000, the Sectoral Council of Central American Ministers of Transport ratified the creation, operation and development of ACSA through Resolution 06-2000 (COMITRAN XXII) and in accordance with Article 55 of Guatemala Protocol. ACSA was officially opened in Alajuela, Costa Rica on 1 September 2000. At the beginning, ACSA’s responsibility was to recommend, advise, guide and facilitate COCESNA Member States about the compliance with the obligations related to Annexes 1, 6, and 8 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Today, ACSA’s scope of responsibility covers all ICAO Annexes. As a proof thereof, ACSA has participated in several ICAO audits conducted to COCESNA Member States and in FAA aviation safety assessments carried out to Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Guatemala, which achieved the "Category 1” status. On 22 January 2001, COCESNA, under the Management Program of the Multilateral Investment Fund, and the Inter-American Development Bank signed a Regional Technical Cooperation Agreement in San Jose, Costa Rica to support air transport safety regulatory and institutional framework. This agreement involved the States of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic and Haiti. COCESNA was the Executing Bureau of this program and ACSA represented COCESNA as part of the executing entity of the EU project. Furthermore, between 2001-2003 and 2004-2006, the cooperation framework agreement number Si2.321614 between the European Union and COCESNA/ACSA was signed at the request of COCESNA Member States. This agreement was part of Economic Cooperation Project to improve aviation safety in Central America. On 2 June 2006, the Sectoral Council of Central American Ministers of Transport approved the Central American Regulations on the System for the Harmonized Development and Implementation of Joint Civil Aviation Rules (RAC System) through Resolution No.02-2006 (COMITRAN XXVI). This implies that ACSA has to implement the RAC System in accordance with RAC-11. There are many challenges to overcome and this encourages us to continue contributing to maintain high safety levels in the Central American region. Our commitment is the continuous pursue of excellence in order to meet safety standards and ensure quality and effectiveness of the services we provide. |
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