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EU Safety Re-audit set for October

Is CAAP Ready?

August 11,2010

The European Union's European Air Safety Agency (EASA) is coming to the Philippines, and the Philippines' Civil Aviation Authority has less than three months to correct the flaws that plagued the country's civil aviation for it to be delisted as a country with Significant Safety Concerns (SSC).

Three experts from the EASA is scheduled to arrive in in October 18 for a five day evaluation of the country's compliance to security and safety standards which it found to be wanting when inspections was held by ICAO last year.

Alfonso G. Cusi, CAA Director General, said his office has asked the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to provide a detailed agenda for the visit on October 18-22.

The results of the inspection will be discussed and reviewed by the EU’s air safety committee in Brussels, Belgium, sometime in November which meeting date is yet to be determined.

Cusi hopes the inspectors would appreciate the efforts made by the agency in improving its compliance status to international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

“We are ready for them,” says Cusi of its chances.

Cusi said they have addressed 77 out of the 88 safety concerns listed by the European Union and will submit a corrective action plan for the EU regulators to evaluate.

The visit has been scheduled in October because the European Union Air Safety Conference is scheduled in November. We’re hoping to get positive feedback from them so that the representatives could relay that to other union members in the conference," he said.

In April this year, the EU included the Philippines from the list of countries having Significant Safety Concern (SSC) relating to the oversight functions on civil aviations which was being implemented by the CAA of the Philippines.

Blacklisting has the effect of banning its operating airlines from flying in the EU's 27 member-states airspace following the findings by ICAO in October 2009 that it failed to regulate its aviation industry to the detriment of the safety of its passengers, foreign or domestic.

Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific failed to convinced the EASA committee members in June regarding its upgraded security and safety procedures because the airlines cannot guarantee that the government is doing its part in the inspection process.

The European regulator however deferred its ruling of making an exemption in November until after it conducts compliance audit of the Philippines aviation body.

"We are also hoping to get clearance for the two major carriers of the Philippines which are Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific," Mr. Cusi adds.

Meanwhile, CAAP announced that on Sept. 2-3, the president of the International Civil Aviation Organization, Roberto Gonzalez, will visit Manila to discuss corrective plans being implemented by the agency to improve its compliance status.

1 comment:

  1. Good Luck!!! How much will "Eddie" get on this readiness? Somebody will get rich again. (again?)

    Kung walang corruption WALANG mahirap. eh kaya pala mayaman ang Government Officials...

    Is the people at CAAP ready to answer such technical questions? or they can easily point fingers again. What's new?

    ReplyDelete