The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wants Bangladesh to achieve a "Category 1" safety rating, which requires passing the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment, to begin US-Bangladesh direct flights.

FAA Attaché Daniel Jacob made the recommendation while meeting the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman and foreign ministry officials during his visit to Dhaka on June 9-12.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines had operated the Dhaka-New York flight between 1993 and 2006 before suspending it.

Bangladesh has been seeking to resume flights on the route for the past several years, but the FAA placed CAAB in Category 2 after finding irregularities in its operational activities in an investigation in 2006.

A Category 1 rating means a country's civil aviation authority complies with the International Civil Aviation Organization standards.

Daniel Jacob explained the process to attain direct flights to Bangladesh officials, said a statement from the US embassy in Dhaka today.

FAA will carry out the IASA for the Category 1 rating at CAAB's request, it added.

However, CAAB has not yet made a request to FAA for an IASA.

If CAAB achieves a Category 1 rating, the US Transportation Security Administration will conduct a separate assessment and inspection to make sure that Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and Biman meet relevant security requirements for the direct flights.