Philippines - Aviation industry asks gov’t to deal with safety systems to regain ‘category 1’ status

APART from the call of domestic airline companies for a fair open skies policy, the government should also double its efforts in improving the country’s aviation safety system if it wants to get a large number of tourists.

Philippine Airlines assistant vice president for government affairs Jose Perez de Tagle said that it is not only reciprocity in open skies policy that they are actively pushing, industry players are also hoping that the country will regain the “category 1” status of its aviation safety system after it was downgraded by US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to category 2 in 2008.

“A rating upgrade is important if the country wants to boost its tourism industry, apart from the efforts on aggressive marketing promotions, maintaining peace and order as well as product development,” de Tagle said in an interview.

Important

A rating upgrade is important especially for airline companies that have plans to either mount or expand operations in United States.

De Tagle said the government should urgently address the issue as this has already burdened airline companies.

The FAA downgraded the Philippines’ civil aviation rating to category 2, citing policies and systems that were below standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) of the United Nations, including the lack of qualified safety personnel.

According to FAA, category 2 means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or that its civil aviation authority is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping or inspection procedure.

But de Tagle said the country’s aviation safety system downgrade has nothing to do with the airlines.

“It is the government that doesn’t have resources and trained safety personnel that operate, audit and regulate,” he said.

Trainings

He said airline companies constantly conduct trainings to improve their workforce as well as enhance airport navigations systems to ensure airline’s safety systems. He said they have been actively doing their share in the promotion of the country’s tourism industry.

In a report, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) announced that the country is preparing for an audit on the country’s commercial aviation system this December to be conducted by a team from the US FAA.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper

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