PH carriers to know by July if they can fly to Europe

MANILA, Philippines – The European Union (EU) air safety assessment team concluded its audit and is expected to announce by July if 6 Philippine low-cost carriers will be allowed to fly to Europe.

EU Ambassador to the Philippines Guy Ledoux said aviation safety auditors were pleased with the key safety priorities of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) under Director General William Hotchkiss III.

The team led by Captain Richard Miller, an aviation safety expert at the European Commission, assessed the continuing progress made by CAAP over the safety oversight of the Philippine aviation industry. They also looked into the safety situation in a number of Philippine airlines.

Airlines that were assessed included Air Asia Incorporated, Air Asia Zest, PAL Express (formerly Air Philippines Corporation), Island Aviation Incorporated, Magnum Air, Tiger Airways Philippines (formerly South East Asian Airlines), and South East Asian Airlines International Incorporated.

CAAP and the airlines were very cooperative and transparent during the 8-day EU Air Safety Assessment visit that kicked off April 16, Ledoux said on Friday, April 24.

“It will now be for all the safety experts at CAAP and at the airlines, with the help of their European colleagues, to continue to do their job,” he added.

The actions of CAAP and the budget carriers on the observations of the European aviation safety experts would be an important element in upcoming deliberations of the European Commission with the EU Air Safety Committee.

The committee, composed of top aviation safety experts of the EU Member States, is set to update the Air Safety list in July and December.

The European Commission has the power to decide which airlines can be removed from or added to the EU Air Safety List.

EU lifted the ban on Philippine Airlines (PAL) in 2013 and Cebu Pacific in 2014.

The EU blacklisted Philippine carriers in 2010 after the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) classified the Philippine aviation industry as “a significant safety concern.” CAAP then failed to comply with safety standards that ICAO required. – Rappler.com