Its Official!

ICAO Lifts Philippines SSCs

Mr. Mohamed Elamiri is the Deputy Director of the Air Navigation Bureau of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) responsible for Safety Management, Monitoring States safety programmes, safety training and assistance to States to address the deficiencies and shortcomings identified through the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme. Since joining the ICAO Secretariat in 1998, he held the positions of Director of the Air Transport Bureau for eight years and Chief of the ICAO Safety and Security Audits Branch for four years.  Prior to joining ICAO, he worked for the Government of Morocco for fifteen years in the field of air transport and from 1992 to 1997 was the Representative of Morocco on the Council of ICAO.

March 5, 2013

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has lifted the Significant Safety Concerns (SSC) on the Philippines it issued five years ago on its aviation industry.

In a letter dated March 1, 2013 from Mohamed El Amiri, ICAO Deputy Director for Safety Management and Monitoring for Air Navigational Bureau, addressed to Director General William K. Hotchkiss III, ICAO confirmed the lifting of the SSC's after the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) passed the safety audit conducted by the ICAO-Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) last Feb. 18 headed by headed by Henry Gourji who recommended the lifting of the SSCs on February 22. Other members of the audit team were Amal Hewawasam, Vincent Lambotte, Christopher Dalton, Guseul Kim, and Saulo Jose da Silva.

Elamiri congratulated Hotchkiss for the “positive response and active commitment” in “resolving the deficiencies identified in the Universal Safety Oversight Programme.”

"We hope that this formal lifting of the SSC's (significant safety concerns) will finally put to rest the lingering doubts of those who may have been misled by false reports that CAAP has embarrassed President Benigno S. Aquino III and the Philippine government by failing the ICAO audit anew," said Hotchkiss, quoting a published news report on the issue.

The Philippine Star had erroneously reported that CAAP had failed to pass the review and has made public apology of its report.

CAAP said it will endorse the ICAO Report to its counterpart in the European Union and the United States for the aviation status upgrade.