Gaa responds to US embassy’s alert

January 28, 2008  --  Got something to say?
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ambgaa.jpgWASHINGTON D.C. Ambassador to the United States Willy C. Gaa Jan. 22 assured the traveling public that despite the US Federal Aviation Administrations ruling downgrading the countrys air safety standards, air travel to the Philippines remains safe and secure.

Gaa was responding to the advisory issued by US Ambassador Kristie Kenney in Manila Jan. 15 warning Americans not to use Philippine air carriers on trips to and from the Philippines because of the FAAs downgrading of the country from Category 1 to Category 2.

I would like to assure the traveling public that air travel to the Philippines remains safe and secure,” Ambassador Gaa said in a statement. He added that all necessary precautions are continually being undertaken by Philippine transportation and civil aviation officials in order to maintain the safety travel records of Philippine air carriers.”

Gaa also noted that the countrys flag-carrier, Philippine Airlines, will continue to service its existing US routes, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas via Vancouver, Honolulu and Guam.
The Philippine envoy said the FAA ruling does not render judgment on the overall safety and maintenance record of an airline operating to and from the Philippines.

Gaa assured that the Philippine Air Transportation Office (ATO) has likewise assured the public that it is taking all necessary corrective measures to return the Philippines to Category 1 status.
Towards this end, the ambassador said, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered the release of PhP110 million for the upgrade of the Philippines ATO.

President Arroyo issued the directive during a Cabinet meeting in Malacanang about an hour before she left for a seven-day trip to Switzerland and Dubai Jan. 21.

The Presidents directive is aimed at improving ATOs regulatory functions focused on strictly implementing aviation regulations, upgrading its technical guidance systems, employment of highly qualified technical personnel, licensing and certification, surveillance and the proper resolution of safety issues.”

Ambassador Gaa further stated that in addition to the supplemental funds for the ATO, the President has urged Congress to expedite passage of a measure creating the Civil Aviation Authority to allow the country to regain its previous safety rating.

The US FAA downgraded the Philippines from Category 1 to Category 2 on January 4, 2008. Category 2 countries are considered by the FAA as those not compliant with ICAO standards - does not provide safety oversight of its air carrier operators in accordance with the minimum safety oversight standards established by the ICAO.

This means that under Category 2, Philippine airport facilities would be operating at current levels under heightened FAA surveillance. Furthermore, according to FAA rules, under Category 2 expansion or changes in services to the United States by…carriers are not permitted while in category 2, although new services will be permitted if operated using aircraft wet-leased from a duly authorized and properly supervised US carrier or a foreign air carrier from category 1 country that is authorized to serve the United States using its own aircraft.”

The US embassy in Manila issued the advisory to American citizens to avoid flying on Philippine airliners because of the downgrade by the FAA.

It said in a statement Jan. 15 that Whenever possible, Americans traveling to and from the Philippines should fly to their destinations on international carriers from countries whose civil aviation safety standards for the oversight of their air carrier operations are under the FAAs International Aviation Safety Standards The embassy said the downgrade was due to the failure of the Philippines to meet FAA and International Air Transport Associationk (ICAO) safety standards.

Philippine Airlines, the countrys flag carrier which makes an average of more than 30 flights to the US every week, said the downgrading and restrictions imposed under the Category 2 rating will affect not just the aviation industry but all other sectors, practically the entire economy, but most directly the tourism sector.

While it said it will continue to fly to the US under certain restrictions, it will withhold plans to put more flights to the US.

One offshoot of the FAAs decision was the sacking of ATO officer-in-charge Danilo Dimagiba. He was replaced by Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza in a concurrent capacity. Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Arroyo gave Mendoza three months to comply with the requirements of the FAA and ICAO.

The US aviation watchdog in its January 8 report included the Philippines in a list of 21 countries that failed to provide safety oversight of its air carrier operators in accordance with the minimum safety oversight standards established by the ICAO.”

PAL said that despite the oversight, it has maintained an independent record of strict adherence to international safety standards, as reflected in PAL passing the IATA (International Air Transport Association) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) in 2007.

IOSA is an internationally recognized and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control system of an airline.

We hope the ATO will soon be able to rectify the assessed deficiencies in its air safety oversight functions so the country can revert to Category 1,” PAL added.

Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific spokesman, said, We are confident that our government will do all possible to revert the Philippines standing back to Category 1 as quickly as possible, seeing that the US is an important market for the Philippines.”

The lack of resources, manpower, administration and technical equipment Aspects of the ATO and the absence of a civil aviation authority are the reasons why the FAA downgraded the countrys air safety, officials said.

Besides the Philippines, countries in Category 2 are Bangladesh, Belize, Bulgaria, Cote DIvoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Serbia and Monte-negro, Swaziland, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe.

The downgrading of Philippine aviation safety oversight category from 1 to 2 is bad for the countrys image, flag-carriers, tourism and economy,” said Alfonso Cusi, general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority. He clarified that the downgrade was not based on the Countrys airports but the civil aviation system.

Mendoza ordered ATO to immediately fix the deficiencies identified by the FAA in a bid to have the downgrade lifted. He assured the public that the government will tap its available resources to ensure the lifting of the Category 2 rating of FAA.

Also, Mendoza appealed to Congress for the immediate passage of the bill creating the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, or the Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008.

That bill, which has passed the House of Representatives and the Senate but not the bicameral committee, aims to convert ATO into a corporate entity, which will provide financial flexibility and enhance commercial operations and management efficiency.

It will strengthen the organizational structure of the authority to be more responsive to the needs of the countrys civil aviation industry.

It will also enhance civil aviation regulation and enforcement, which is one of the deficiencies noted by FAA.

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