THE CIVIL Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is planning to craft a set of guidelines to keep the agency compliant with international safety standards, an official said yesterday.
Speaking at the agency’s fifth founding anniversary celebrations in Pasay City, CAAP Director General William K. Hotchkiss III underscored the need to maintain aviation safety standards.
“On April 4 to 6, we will gather for a strategic planning conference to identify, articulate and commit to a strategic planning document that will define the roles, functions, and responsibilities of every service, department and group in CAAP and address the sustainability issue,” Mr. Hotchkiss said during his speech.
In an interview after his speech, Mr. Hotchkiss said the “strategic planning document” would be like a “road map to sustainability” for the agency.
“We will submit that to the Office of the President,” he said, pertaining to the document.
“This is to maintain a safety oversight systems and so that we will always be within the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) standards,” he added.
ICAO on March 7 officially removed Philippines from the list of countries with significant safety concerns, after passing two audits in February and October last year.
The agency in 2009 had tagged the country’s lapses, which led EU to imposed ban on local carriers the following year. Meanwhile, the US-Federal Aviation Administration downgraded the country to Category 2 in 2008, following an audit the prior year, as it did “not comply with the international safety standards set by ICAO.”
The downgrade barred local carriers from expanding operations to US. Hence, Philippine Airlines, which had US operations prior to the downgrade, could not expand routes within US.
In the same event yesterday, President Benigno S. C. Aquino III congratulated CAAP for its accomplishments, but noted that much work needs to be done in ensuring the Philippines will get an FAA upgrade and be removed from the EU blacklist.
“In the coming days, weeks, and months, all of us will be working towards getting our country off the watch lists of the United States and the European Union,” he said during his speech.
“So today I also give you my marching orders: Let’s get this done. We have the momentum; we have the right people and have put the right systems in place. It is time for us to usher in a golden age not just for Philippine aviation, not just for Philippine tourism, but for our entire country,” he added.
CAAP officials are set to present ICAO documents come April 16 in Brussels, in hopes that the Philippines will be removed from the EU blacklist and eventually allow local carriers to fly there.
CAAP has also engaged FAA for a meeting, but both parties have yet to arrive at mutually agreed schedule.
Progress on aviation safety, Mr. Hotchkiss said, “will open more opportunities for the Filipino aviation industry and its stakeholders, such as increased trade, tourism, and investments.”
Source: Cliff Harvey C. Venzon, BusinessWorld.
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